Rabu 06 May 2015 18:17 WIB

Victim of human trafficking should not be criminalized

Anis Hidayah
Foto: Agung Supriyanto/Republika
Anis Hidayah

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso should not be executed if proven to be a victim of human trafficking, according to Executive Director of Migrant Care Anis Hidayah.

"The International Convention for Human Trafficking Crimes, or Palermo Protocol, has clearly said that a victim who is a witness should not be executed because she has to give a testimony," Hidayah stated here on Wednesday (6/5).

If she is indeed a human trafficking victim, it could become a new norm to apply for a judicial review to the Supreme Court (MA) over her capital punishment.

"There are three elements of human trafficking: the movement of people, means, and exploitation. I see three elements in Mary Jane's case. But, it has to be proven in the Philippines," he noted.

"There are also many Indonesians trapped as illicit drug couriers in the Philippines, China, and Malaysia," he remarked.

Mary Jane was initially on the list of death row convicts to be executed on April 29, 2015.

However, Indonesia decided to put on hold the Filipino migrant worker Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso's execution following a request from the president of the Philippines.

"The execution of Mary Jane has been put on hold in view of a request from the president of the Philippines," spokesman for the Attorney General's Office (AGO) Tony Tribagus Spontana stated after the executions.

A Filipino national Maria Kristina Sergio surrendered in her country and claimed responsibility for trapping Mary Jane in a human trafficking racket.

"Mary Jane will be required to give testimonies," Spontana noted.

Of the 10 convicts on the initial execution list, the authorities executed eight prisoners: Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan from Australia; Martin Anderson from Ghana; Zainal Abidin from Indonesia; Rodrigo Gularte from Brazil; and Raheem Agbajeand, Sylvester Obiekwe Nwolise, and Okwudili Oyatanze from Nigeria.

sumber : Antara
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