‘An exact time for her execution’

CILACAP, Indonesia—The head of penitentiary affairs at the Law and Human Rights Ministry’s Central Java office, Ahmad Yuspahruddin, says the office expects the execution of Mary Jane Veloso, the Filipino on death row for drug trafficking, to be conducted immediately after she is transferred to the Nusakambangan prison island, as the prison does not have a special block for female inmates.

“We hope that the inmate will be transferred to Nusakambangan only after there is an exact time for her execution. This is to avoid her waiting too long in an isolation cell because Nusakambangan doesn’t have a special block or cell for female inmates,” Yuspahruddin told journalists in Cilacap, Central Java, on Saturday, adding that three days was the maximum time she should be made to wait.

He said it would be better for her to be transferred to the Wirogunan Penitentiary in Yogyakarta if the execution date wasn’t decided, and that an isolation cell had been set up for Veloso.

All things considered, Yuspahruddin said the prison was prepared to carry out the second stage of executions.

“We are waiting for the further instructions. Once the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) orders the transfer of the death row inmate, we are ready to carry out the execution,” he said.

Veloso, who was convicted of trafficking 2.6 kilograms of heroin via Adisutjipto Airport in Yogyakarta, is one of 10 inmates slated to be executed by firing squad in coming days.

After President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo rejected Veloso’s clemency request, she filed a second-case review with the Supreme Court. The court rejected her appeal two days ago, clearing the way for the execution of the 10 death row inmates.

Authorities have stepped-up security measures in and around the Nusakambangan prison island following the rejection of Veloso’s second case-review request. ANN/The Jakarta Post