Indonesian Version

 

Who is Jessica?

Jessica Kumala Wongso or better known as Jessica is an Indonesian-Australian Jakarta resident who previously studied at Billy Blue College of Design, Australia. She had a college friend named Wayan Mirna Salihin, after they finished their education in Australia, Mirna returned to Indonesia first while Jessica stayed in Australia for some time.

 

Mirna Salihin Death Case

Wayan Mirna Salihin who was also a close friend of Jessica died on January 6, 2016 after drinking vietnamese coffee at Cafe Olivier. Mirna died on the way to the hospital in her husband's private car accompanied by Jessica & Hani. Police later examined Mirna's death and determined she had been murdered using cyanide poison. Jessica was accused of putting cyanide poison into the coffee Mirna drank to cause death, and Jessica was named a suspect and sentenced to 20 years in prison by a panel of judges.

 

The irregularities of Jessica's trial

Jessica's court case was featured in a documentary called Ice Cold: Murder, Coffee and Jessica Wongso produced by Netflix and has been airing since September 28, 2023. Based on data summarized from various sources, there are several irregularities contained in this case which can be seen below:

• Mirna was not autopsied, only stomach samples were taken.
• 70 minutes after Mirna died, no cyanide was found in the victim's body.
• The first doctor who handled Mirna's body, Dr. Djaja Surya Atmadja, saw that Mirna's body was blue and there was no indication that she died from cyanide poisoning.
• 3 days after Mirna died, only 0.2mg of cyanide was found, less than an apple seed that contains 0.6mg of cyanide.
• Evidence was transferred from the glass to the bottle without any minutes.
• CCTV showing police entering and exiting Cafe Olivier with evidence was permanently erased.
• Jessica was met by Khrisna Murti and forced to confess to killing Mirna Salihin.

Jessica Kumala Wongso has been accused and sentenced to prison without any direct evidence showing that Jessica put cyanide poison into Mirna's coffee.

 

Jessica's Memorandum of Defense

 

 

I am here because I am accused of poisoning my friend Mirna. I never thought that the meeting on January 6 would be the last time I would see Mirna, let alone that I would be accused of killing her. But I realize that nothing escapes the will of God Almighty, and so far I have been given tremendous strength to face this ordeal.
 
Mirna was a good friend, because she was friendly, kind and honest with her friends. She was also very humorous, creative, and clever. Even though we rarely met because we lived in different countries, it was still very easy to spend hours joking and chatting when we met.
 
It never crossed my mind that Mirna came from a family that was ready to pressure and intimidate anyone who they believed had done something bad even without a proper explanation. It made me wonder if they became evil because they lost Mirna?
 
After all, I didn't kill Mirna. So there should be no reason to treat me like trash. I understand their grief, and I too feel very lost. But I was also accused of murder and I don't know how to express my feelings in words.
 
Before the incident, I didn't have any premonition that that day would change people's lives. Everything I did or didn't do was exaggerated, and the whole country judged me.
 
All the accusations were cruel, based on allegations that I didn't understand. But it made everyone believe that I was a murderer. My family was cornered and we were made to suffer greatly.
 
Your Honor, it is difficult to explain what I really feel about this incident. I don't know what to do. Is it really because of the coffee? But one thing I know and am sure of is that I did not put poison in the coffee Mirna drank.
 
I often think, is there anything I could have done better that day to change everything. This thought made me very sad and depressed. For a long time I couldn't make any effort to defend myself. Although the reality of my life was horrible, I believed that God heard my prayer, because it was the prayer of a righteous person who was oppressed.
 
On the day of Mirna's death, my family's and my nightmare began. From the time I arrived at the funeral home, I was accused of putting something in Mirna's coffee and then the police without uniforms and identification started coming to the house. Even the surrounding families were disturbed.
 
Journalists started coming to the house and eventually I appeared in the media and was booed. After that I was arrested at the hotel, where I was again accused of trying to escape. At that time we were just looking for peace and comfort, which we couldn't get at home anymore. It was difficult to even go out to buy food. From the day of my arrest, the pressure from the police became more apparent. They constantly told me to confess with the CCTV footage as a weapon.
 
Your Honor, no matter how heavy, sad, depressed and devastated, nothing and no one can make me confess to something I did not do and could not possibly do.
 
I was placed in a cell that measured no more than 1.5 x 2.5 meters. I was warned that other detainees would do bad things to me, I didn't have any belongings, and I wasn't allowed family visits for the next two days.
 
The only thing that was there was a piece of dirty clothes on the floor. As I lay there, I cried and asked what had I done to be treated like this? I tried to find someone else because I was so scared to be there. I dared not imagine how my parents would feel. Then I tried to peek through the only opening for communication, a small hole in the metal door, but there was no one there.
 
The following night, the then Director of Public Affairs (Kombes Krishna Murti) came to my cell and took me to a room. With the guards watching from outside the room he began to speak in English that it was demeaning for him to come to the detention center. Then he asked me to admit the accusations made against me, under the pretext that he had checked the CCTV footage.
 
In essence, he wanted to say that if I confessed then I would be sentenced to seven years instead of death or life imprisonment. Then I went back to my cell. There I hoped to wake up from this nightmare and wondered why they were so sure that I put poison in the coffee. I really don't understand what this is all about.

Your Honor, one of the most difficult experiences was during the reconstruction at Grand Indonesia. When I arrived there, I saw a lot of police, both outside and inside the building. Whatever their purpose was, they were intimidating. Wearing prison clothes as a suspect in a murder case, I got snide looks from everyone, especially the staff at Olivier cafe.
 
But what broke me was seeing Arief and Hanny, and their families. Behind my calm expression I just wanted to shout to them that I didn't kill Mirna. Please help me, I was suffering so much. But at that moment I could only accept their treatment and feelings, and pray that God would provide a way out.
 
It didn't end there, after that I had to walk to the soap shop. In the afternoon on Sunday, I had to pass by people who were calling me a cold-blooded murderer and taking photos, so I didn't know how to deal with all that.
 
I went back to my cell and let out all the tears I had been holding back all day. I didn't want to care about the cell situation, which was very uncomfortable because of this. As long as I was still being routinely examined at Polda and RSCM, even though it was hard, I still followed and hoped that it would be over quickly and I could go home. No matter how stressed I am, I still respect the examination process according to procedure.
 
All the accusations coming from strangers and people I used to care about made me feel that there was nothing left in me. But I was confident that everything would be okay.
 
After four days of solitary confinement, I was transferred to Pondok Bambu. At first I was very scared because there were so many people there that I was very worried about the police warning when I was detained.
 
After coming out of isolation at Polda I slowly began to prepare myself to attend the scary trial. It was scary because the purpose of the trial was to try me as a murderer. Even though I did not do that.
 
Even during the trial process, my personal life, which had nothing to do with the case, was discussed and became public consumption. Many people intentionally or unintentionally oppressed and suppressed me. I remain grateful that there are still people around me who I know personally or not, sincerely providing support and believing that I am innocent. With that support I am able to stay strong and smile.
 
If Your Majesty could pause for a moment to imagine Your Majesty in my shoes, Your Majesty would be able to understand why I am wondering, what happened and why is all this so confusing? How could anyone do such evil to me?
 
Because of this experience, my life will never go back to the way it was. But I don't regret having known Mirna. She will forever live in my heart as a good friend and she knows that I would never poison someone.
 
I ask Your Honor to wisely judge my character. Not based on lies. Although my good side is always ignored in this trial, I still hope that Your Honor can judge with a wise heart in assessing my true character.
 
I swear that I am not a murderer. That I am here strong and resilient is absolute proof that God is with us all. Thank you Your Honor for listening to me.

 

Petition Purpose

This petition aims to provide support to Jessica Kumala Wongso to get her rights and justice. We ask Ir. H. Joko Widodo and the Supreme Court of the Republic of Indonesia to conduct a judicial review of the trial of Jessica Kumala Wongso and release her from all legal proceedings and clear her name. We believe that Jessica is a victim of judicial flaws in Indonesia.

Thus the contents of this petition letter, we hope that justice in this country can be upheld as fair as possible.