Few minutes before the execution, only 8 drug convicts face the firing squad early Wednesday (April 29) in the Nusakambangan prison island near Cilacap in Central Java in Indonesia. According to the report of The Jakarta Post, Mary Jane Veloso who should be the 9th person who will be facing the execution together with the 8 was spared for the meantime after a woman who allegedly recruited her to act as a drug courier gave herself up to police in the Philippines on Tuesday.
The 8 drug convicts who were executed include Indonesian Zainal Abidin, Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, Brazilian Rodrigo Gularte, Nigerians Sylvester Obiekwe Nwolise, Raheem Agbaje Salami and Okwudili Oyatanze, Ghanaian Martin Anderson.
In the report of Rappler, Indonesian Attorney General M. Prasetyo said that President Benigno Aquino III did a last minute plea informing them that someone surrendered to them and claiming she was the one who recruited Mary Jane. The person who surrendered was Maria Kristina Sergio. She voluntarily surrendered in the Nueva Ecija Police Provincial Office at 10:30 AM, Tuesday (April 28). The Department of Justice has set the preliminary investigation on Mary Jane Veloso’s case on May 8.
Meanwhile, aside from Mary Jane who was spared from the execution today is the French national Serge Areski Atlaoui whereas as he is resubmitting his second case review to the State Administrative Court.
The family of Veloso and the Filipino people continue to pray that Mary Jane will be saved.
