REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Attorney General HM Prasetyo confirmed that his side had made preparations and was now awaiting a definite date for the execution of death row drug convicts.
"I have repeatedly said that we have coordinated and made preparations. We are now waiting for the fixed date to carry out the execution. I cannot as yet take a decision on it," the attorney general noted here on Tuesday.
The attorney general clarified that his side had never proclaimed that it would halt the execution of death row convicts and cease the war against narcotics trafficking.
"We will continue to carry out executions. Of course, we have to prepare several things as this case concerns cross-sectoral agencies. It does not only involve the prosecutor's office, as the executor, but also other agencies that we need to cooperate with," Prasetyo explained.
Prasetyo said his side did not want the execution of death row convicts to spark any controversies as it was not something that made them happy.
"However, we have to do it as it concerns the continuation of the nation's existence," he noted.
Prasetyo said the third phase of the execution of the death row convicts included Philippine Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso (31) whose planned execution was postponed sometime in the past. Jane's execution was put on hold following a confession that the Philippine citizen was merely a victim of human trafficking.
"I have told the Philippine attorney general that even though Jane is merely a human trafficking victim, yet she could not escape a death sentence in Indonesia as she was caught red-handed while smuggling heroin into Indonesia," Prasetyo emphasized.
The attorney general remarked that if Jane was a human trafficking victim, then she could use it to her advantage to seek a judicial review.
"We would then have to wait for the decision. It is not the prosecutor who will decide. The prosecutor will only execute the decision, which already has a legal binding," he affirmed.
When questioned on the number of convicts on death row in the third phase, the attorney general refused to reveal any further details.
In the meantime, the High prosecution office of Yogyakarta said it had not received information on the execution of Philippine death row drug convict Mary Jane.
"No information has yet been received on the execution plan, but what is clear is that there is no change in status. Until now, the status of Mary Jane is still that of a death row drug convict," spokesman of the prosecution office Zulkardiman clarified in Yogyakarta on Tuesday.
Mary Jane is being held at a Yogyakarta prison, pending the government's final decision.
Mary Jane was to be executed along with several other drug convicts in April 2015, but she escaped immediate execution after a woman, who allegedly recruited her to act as a drug courier, surrendered to the police in the Philippines.
Indonesia's Attorney General's Office (AGO) said it would include Mary Jane in the next round of executions after the legal process in her country was completed.
However, the date of another or the third round of execution has been delayed as the government had to focus on economic recovery.
Prasetyo noted that further rounds of execution could trigger an international outcry that could derail President Joko Widodo's campaign to fix the country's ailing economy.
Last year, the government executed more than ten drug convicts in January and April, drawing international condemnation, mainly from human rights organizations.
In September, last year, the AGO had sent a budget proposal for the execution of 14 more foreign and domestic drug convicts to the House of Representatives, but the plan was put on hold over fears of having a damaging impact on the economy.
Prasetyo stated late last year that the third round of execution would likely take place in 2016, but he did not provide details regarding the plan.
On Tuesday, Zulkardiman said he could not confirm whether Mary Jane's execution would depend on the result of the trial of Maria Kristina Sergio, who allegedly recruited her in human trafficking.
"We are ready if questioned to facilitate the investigations concerning Mary Jane as a witness in the human trafficking allegation," he explained.
He remarked that Mary Jane can give her testimony through teleconference or the Philippine investigators can come to Indonesia.
"The procedure has to be set first," he noted.
Head of the Yogyakarta High Prosecution Office Tony Spontana stated that the execution of Mary Jane was only a matter of time.
Tony expressed doubts whether the result of the human trafficking case of Maria Kristina Sergio would have any effect on the status of Mary Jane.
"The two are facing different cases. Mary Jane was convicted for drug trafficking, while Maria Kristina is charged with human trafficking," he pointed out.
President Widodo has reiterated his stance to not grant clemency to drug convicts.
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