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Church officials welcome Indonesia's moratorium on death penalty

Catholic woman on death row wins more time to plead her case
Church officials welcome Indonesia's moratorium on death penalty

The execution of Mary Jane Veloso, a 30-year old Filipino woman, remains on hold after the Indonesian government announced a moratorium on all executions. (Photo by Joe Torres)

Published: November 20, 2015 05:59 AM GMT
Updated: November 17, 2022 08:59 AM GMT

Activists and church leaders in Indonesia and the Philippines have welcomed news that Indonesia will not be executing death row prisoners in the near future.

Indonesian Father Benny Susetyo, general secretary of the Setara Institute for Democracy, said the moratorium on executions is a positive sign, indicating that the death penalty is not a top priority.

"It's the right decision to focus more on economic development than the death penalty," he said Nov. 20.

"Drug lords need to get maximum punishment, such as a life sentence, impoverishment, and being put in isolated prisons," said Father Susetyo. "This is the punishment for drug traffickers that we want to see, instead of the death penalty."

The decision, announced Nov. 19, effectively extends a temporary reprieve to 30-year-old Filipino woman Mary Jane Veloso, who faces the death penalty for attempting to smuggle 2.6 kilograms of heroin into Indonesia. Veloso was scheduled to be executed in April, but the execution was postponed at the last minute, pending an investigation into her claim that she was the victim of human trafficking.

"It is a welcome relief for us that executions are not their priority," said Bishop Ruperto Santos of Balanga, chairman of the Philippine bishops' Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People. 

"Our hope is heightened that [Veloso]'s life can be saved and [she] will be proven innocent," Santos said.

"We are very happy because this would give the government and our lawyers time to look into her case," said Veloso's mother, Celia.

Lawyer Edre Olalia, Veloso's counsel, said the news from Indonesia is "certainly welcome not only for Veloso but for all concerned."

"We hope in time that it leads to a permanent abolition [of the death penalty] as we have serious objections and questions about its effect and purpose in deterring crime," said Olalia, secretary-general of the National Union of Peoples' Lawyers.

He said capital punishment "precludes rehabilitation and reformation" and may victimize innocent people who are wrongly convicted for different reasons or factors.

Olalia welcome the Indonesian government's decision, saying that whatever they call it, "the net effect is that there will be no execution until further notice for the purported reason that they want to focus on their economy."

On Nov. 19, Indonesia's security minister, Luhut Binsar Panjaitan, announced that the government's priority was to address the country's economic slowdown.

"We haven't thought about executing a death penalty with the economic conditions like this," Panjaitan told a media briefing in Jakarta.

This year, Indonesia executed 14 people by firing squad, including citizens from Brazil, the Netherlands, Australia, and Nigeria.

Additional reporting by Siktus Harson in Jakarta

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