Duterte ‘accepts’ Indonesia execution of drug convicts

By Ainur Rohmah

TUBAN, Indonesia (AA) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced Monday that his Philippines counterpart Rodrigo Duterte said he accepted that Indonesian authorities may execute a Filipina convicted of drug smuggling.

Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso’s execution was delayed last year after her suspected recruiter surrendered to Philippines police, with Indonesia’s attorney general expressing respect for the legal process in the neighboring country.

After joining Eid al-Adha prayers in Serang Regency on Monday, Widodo told reporters that he discussed the case of Veloso with Duterte on Friday during his visit to Indonesia.

"I have communicated about Mary Jane, and I told him that she was carrying 2.6 kilograms of heroin. I also told him about the postponement of execution for her," Widodo was quoted as saying by detik.com.

Widodo said Duterte -- who has launched a crackdown on illegal drugs in the Philippines, where more than 2,000 suspects have been killed since he won the May 9 polls -- did not oppose the Indonesian government’s possible execution of Veloso.

Addressing the ongoing legal process in the Philippines on whether Veloso was a victim of human trafficking, Widodo said Indonesia’s attorney general would deal with the matter.

"But President Duterte's answer… was allowing Indonesia to execute Mary Jane," he added.

Veloso, a single mother of two, had been seeking work in Malaysia as a maid when she was arrested while smuggling 2.6 kilograms of heroin at Yogyakarta airport, Java island, in April 2010.

She was due to be shot in April 2015 by firing squad with seven foreigners, including Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, which provoked criticism from the international community and a diplomatic spat with Canberra.

In late July, Indonesia executed one national and three foreigners convicted of drug smuggling.

Indonesia has some of the harshest anti-narcotic laws in the world. Widodo declared a "drug emergency" last year, on the grounds that such use reportedly kills around 40-50 people in the country daily.