Jakarta –
At the end of April 2015, the atmosphere at Wijayapura Pier in Cilacap was unusual even though it was soon after midnight. The pier which is the gateway to Nusakambangan is filled with faces awaiting execution.
Meanwhile, across the pier, in Nusakambangan, 9 people were anxious. They are death row inmates waiting to be executed.
The long and short hands of the hour meet the day markers. That day, Wednesday, May 29 2015, was the date for determining the 9 death convicts. But the feelings of one of them raged. Tears of emotion and relief hit because of him, Mary Jane Fiesta Velosopending execution.
Mary Jane was supposed to be facing a firing squad that night. But fate said otherwise.
That night only Andrew Chan, Myuran Sukumaran, Martin Andeson, Raheem Agbaje, Rodrigo Gularte, Sylvester Obiekwe Nwolise, Okwudili Oyatanze, and Zainal Abidin were executed.
The first two names are Australian citizens who are known as the duo ‘Bali Nine’. The rest are Nigerian citizens except for Rodrigo who is from Brazil and Zainal from Indonesia.
The execution took place during Prasetyo’s leadership as Attorney General. The names above were included in the list of death row convicts in batch two, whereas previously in January 6 convicts who were executed were executed.
Back to the story of Mary Jane. The postponement of his execution could not be separated from the request of then Philippine President Benigno Aquaino III when he met President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on the sidelines of the 26th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Monday, April 27 2015.
Reported by detikX, Benigno reasoned that Mary was a victim of the human trafficking mafia. In fact, a day later, or the day before Mary was executed, the Philippine security authorities detained Maria Cristina Sergio, the perpetrator of the human trafficker. It was this 44-year-old woman who was accused of framing Mary Jane. He surrendered in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija on Thursday, April 28 2015 at 10.00 local time.
“So there is a letter from the Philippine government. There is a case human trafficking. There is a delay, not a cancellation,” Jokowi said in Jakarta on Wednesday, April 29, 2015.
Apart from that, the Attorney General’s Office has actually prepared 9 stakes where the death row convicts will be when they are executed by the firing squad. Obtained photo detikcom at that time it was shown that the poles were stuck in a field at Limus Buntu which was behind the Nusakambangan police post.
The poles are covered with tents. Of note detikcom, the implementation of the second batch of executions was somewhat different from the first wave. The Attorney General’s Office tightened security during the execution at the Limus Buntu shooting range, Nusakambangan.
If during the first batch of executions, officers caught people trying to enter the execution site in the waters of Nusakambangan. So this time the security was tightened.
“At the execution site there was already a tent so that it couldn’t be monitored by drones. Before that there weren’t any,” said the source detikcom when contacted, Tuesday (28/4/2015).
But in the middle of that night one of the stakes was no man’s land because Mary Jane’s execution was delayed. The incident occurred in 2015. Now 8 years later Mary Jane hopes to be forgiven.
On Thursday, June 22, 2023, Mary Jane’s mother, Celia Veloso, hoped that her daughter would be free. According to him, Mary Jane’s 13 years behind bars was enough.
“Mary Jane has been in prison for 13 years and that is a very, very long time and I know she is a victim of TIP (Criminal Trafficking in Persons),” said Celia at a press conference at Komnas HAM, Jalan Latuharhary, Central Jakarta, Thursday (22/6 /2023).
As a mother, Celia admits that she is sad to see her child languishing in prison awaiting execution. In fact, said Celia, Mary Jane was a good child.
“Mary Jane is my youngest child. I sometimes ask God why my daughter is here in prison. And I know my daughter is a very good child,” he said.
“And I continue to appeal for everyone’s support for the release of Mary Jane,” he continued.
In the same place, Komnas HAM Commissioner Anis Hidayah explained the purpose of Mary Jane’s family coming to her office. Anis said Mary Jane’s family would apply for clemency to President Jokowi. Komnas HAM, said Anis, will also provide recommendations for President Jokowi to grant clemency to Mary Jane as a victim of TIP.
“The family’s arrival here asked Komnas HAM to take on roles according to its mandate so that Mary Jane could return to the Philippines with her two sons,” Anis.
“Later the lawyers will apply for clemency to the President regarding the Mary Jane case. Komnas will provide a recommendation that this be granted clemency on the strong suspicion that she was a victim of TIP,” added Anis.
In fact, before this Mary Jane had applied for clemency but was rejected by Jokowi on December 30 2014. Then Mary Jane’s legal team submitted a second judicial review (PK) to the Sleman District Court on April 27 2015. However, the following day or the day before the execution, the PK rejected by the Sleman District Court.
See also ”Two Children are Enough’: Between Reality and Outdated Propaganda’:
(dhn/dhn)
2023-07-03 04:17:02
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