Indonesia executed eight prisoners condemned to death for drug offences. Two others were given late temporary reprieves.
Mary Jane Veloso (temporary reprieve)
Veloso, aged 30, from the Philippines, was arrested in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in 2010 and found to be carrying a suitcase packed with 2.2kg (5lb) of heroin. Painted in court as a knowing drugs courier, she was sentenced to death. But her supporters say that poverty had made her susceptible to people traffickers, who promised her a job as a maid in Malaysia but instead made her an unwitting drug mule.
On Tuesday the woman who recruited Veloso for that job, Maria Kristina Sergio, “voluntarily surrendered” to police in the Philippine province of Nueva Ecija. She was wanted on charges of illegal recruitment and human trafficking.
An intervention by the Philippine president, Benigno Aquino raised hopes that his Indonesian counterpart, Joko Widodo, might be sympathetic to her case. However, the attorney general said the execution would go ahead.
Veloso has two sons, aged 12 and six. Her sister, Marites Veloso-Laurente, said their mother had had to explain to them “If Mumma does not go home, just think Mumma is in heaven.”
Andrew Chan
Chan was arrested in Denpasar in April 2005, on a flight bound for Australia. A 22-year-old still living with his parents in western Sydney, he was carrying no drugs, but was found guilty, along with Myuran Sukumaran, of masterminding a drug smuggling ring and recruiting seven other Australians – the so-called Bali Nine. He was found guilty and sentenced to death by firing squad.
In his time on Indonesia’s death row, those who have been in contact with him say he is an utterly changed man. Now 31, he has become a committed Christian and a pastor, and spends much of his day in prayer or religious study, and counselling other prisoners.
On the eve of his execution Chan married his Indonesian girlfriend, Febyanti Herewila, in a ceremony on Nusa Kambangan, the prison island where he awaits the firing squad. His brother, Michael Chan, described leaving him after a final visit on Tuesday as “torture”.
Myuran Sukumaran
Arrested with Chan in 2005, Sukumaran, then 24, had also been living with his parents in Sydney, working in a mailroom. In his time in prison, he has become an accomplished artist, and his final painting – a heart dripping with blood, signed by all nine condemned prisoners – was removed from Nusa Kambangan by Indonesian officials on Tuesday.
Chinthu Sukumaran, brother of Myuran, who spoke of behalf of his family after returning from Nusa Kambanang for what is expected to be the final time, said: “We did talk about the death penalty and he knows this is just a waste. He knows this is not going to solve anything with drugs.
“Drug trafficking will still be there. If these nine people die today, tomorrow, next week, next month, it is still not going to stop anything. I ask the president to please show mercy. Please don’t let my mum and my sister have to bury my brother. Please, I ask the Indonesian people to show mercy.”
Rodrigo Gularte
Rodrigo Gularte, who has twice been diagnosed with schizophrenia, is set to be the second Brazilian to be shot by firing squad in Indonesia this year.
The Brazilian foreign ministry has declared the death sentence “unacceptable” and “contrary to the common sense and basic standards of human rights protection” in a letter sent on Monday to the government in Jakarta.
Gularte, who is from a wealthy family in the state of Paraná , was arrested at Jakarta airport in 2004 with 6kgs of cocaine secreted in a surfboard.
His lawyers have argued unsuccessfully that his history of mental illness made him unfit to stand trial. Gularte was first diagnosed with a mental illness in 1982, according to medical documents obtained by his legal team. Last year, doctors confirmed the schizophrenia diagnosis. Indonesia’s attorney general ordered a second opinion from police doctors, but this has not been made public, prompting criticism of the lack of transparency.
His cousin Angelita Muxfeldt , who is in Indonesia, said Gularte has asked to be buried in Brazil. “I’ve been here for three months and never seen Rodrigo so calm,” she told the domestic media.
Martin Anderson
Anderson was sentenced to death in 2004 after being found guilty of possessing about 50g (1.8oz) of heroin. The 50-year-old travelled to Indonesia on a false passport and was thought to be Ghanian, but is in fact – like three of his fellow prisoners – from Nigeria.
He was reportedly shot in the leg during his arrest. His lawyer told the media that he has been in poor spirits since being moved to Nusa Kambangan to face execution.
Raheem Agbaje Salami (also known as Jamiu Owolabi Abashin)
Abashin, 50, has said he was homeless in Bangkok when a new “friend” offered him $400 to take some clothes to Indonesia. He was arrested in Surabaya with 5.5kg (12lb) of heroin and originally sentenced, in 1999, to life in prison.
The sentence was changed to one of death in 2006. In an appeal for presidential clemency, Abashin admitted he had known he was carrying the drugs. His appeal was unsuccessful.
Silvester Obiekwe Nwolise
Nwolise, 47, was convicted in 2002 of smuggling just over a kilogram of heroin into Indonesia. He was sentenced to death.
His wife said he believed he was carrying tablets – which he swallowed – containing goat horn powder for some Nigerian friends in Pakistan. She also said he had no translator during his trial, and there are allegations that a bribe was sought to spare him a death sentence.
Okwuduli Oyatanze
Oyatanze, 41, was sentenced to death in 2002, found guilty of attempting to bring 2.5kg of heroin through Jakarta in capsules inside his stomach.
Charles Burrows, a Catholic priest who has counselled Oyatanze in prison, says that the Nigerian man, following the collapse of his clothing company, had thought being a drugs mule would be “easy money”.
Zainal Abidin
Abidin, 50, an Indonesian, was moved to Nusa Kambangan in preparation for execution despite still having an appeal due to be heard by the courts. He was convicted in 2001 of being the ringleader of a plan to sell marijuana, which he denies.
Two men convicted with Abidin, who he claims were the real masterminds of the ring, have served prison sentences and are now free.
Serge Atlaoui (temporary reprieve)
Atlaioui, from France, was due to be executed this week, but it has been delayed pending a legal challenge. He was arrested for working in a factory used to produce ecstasy. He claims he was working as a welder and was unaware of the illegal activity.
Additional reporting by Jonathan Watts.
