Indonesia Attorney General: Executions will proceed

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Indonesia Attorney General: Executions will proceed

EPA

(3rd UPDATE) '[President Joko Widodo said] proceed according to the rules,' the attorney general tells reporters

CILACAP, Indonesia (3rd UPDATE) – Indonesian Attorney General H.M. Prasetyo has confirmed the execution of 9 drug convicts, including one from the Philippines, will proceed.

“[President Joko Widodo said] proceed according to the rules,” the attorney general told reporters, when asked about the results of a meeting on Tuesday afternoon, April 28.

The meeting was reportedly called after the President was informed of the surrender of Mary Jane Veloso’s recruiter, Maria Kristina Sergio, in the Philippines. Sergio, along with two others, face illegal recruitment, human trafficking, and estafa charges. 

“Don’t force us to cancel or postpone the executions. If we do, we will be perceived as weak,” Prasetyo said before the meeting began.

He added they were 100% ready to carry out the executions, which are expected to begin after midnight on Wednesday, April 29.

“I have already set up the time, even the hour, but I won’t publish it,” Prasetyo said. 

A Rappler source said that according to the mother of an Australian drug trafficker on Indonesia’s death row, her son would be executed by firing squad at midnight (1700 GMT) Tuesday.

While the meeting was going on, Indonesian Cabinet Secretary Andi Widjojanto said Widodo was consulting with Prasetyo and the head of the Indonesian National Narcotics Agency about Veloso’s case. 

When asked if the recruiter’s surrender could change Veloso’s fate, Andi replied, “Depending on the results of our confirmation and the implications of it on the legal process.”

Separately, the Philippine Department of Justice also sent an “extremely urgent” letter addressed to the Indonesian Attorney General asking for a “suspension of execution of the death sentence” in light of Sergio’s surrender.

In a last-ditch effort to save Veloso, President Benigno Aquino III earlier on Tuesday proposed to the Indonesian government to make Veloso a state witness against the drug syndicate that reportedly victimized her.  – with reports from Ata and Jet Damazo-Santos/Rappler.com

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