Brazilian woman avoids capital punishment in Indonesia

Last year, Brazilian national Manuela Vitória de Araújo Farias was apprehended in Indonesia, caught carrying cocaine.

Known for having one of the most stringent drug laws globally, Indonesia has witnessed numerous Indonesian and foreign nationals being executed for drug-related offenses in recent years.

Manuela, however, managed to avoid a death sentence. She received an eleven-year sentence and a fine exceeding 300,000 reais (US$60,000)).

Family representative lawyer Davi Lira da Silva revealed that failure to pay the fine would result in a two-year extension to her prison term. Yet, he expressed a sense of relief, stating, “The worst is over.”

Acknowledging the Indonesian criminal justice system’s harshness, Silva remarked, “It was indeed a significant victory considering the severity of this country’s criminal justice system.”

He illustrated the strictness of the Indonesian system with a recent incident where a Brazilian man who appeared drunk and naked outside a hotel was immediately punished with thirty lashes, which left him severely wounded, without any trial.

Manuela was caught at Bali airport with nearly three kilograms of cocaine in her luggage, leading to her arrest on December 31 the previous year.

In 2015, Marco Archer Cardoso Moreira, aged 53, was executed in Indonesia for drug trafficking, marking the first instance of a Brazilian being sentenced to death overseas.

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