Arrested for more than a month in Thailand on charges of cocaine trafficking, Mary Hellen Coelho Silva, 21, has not yet been able to speak to her family in Brazil.
According to the lawyer Telêmaco Marrace, one of those responsible for the defense of the young woman, she awaits the release of the Thai authorities to speak with her family by videoconference.
Mary Hellen had Covid and was in isolation until the 10th. Also according to Marrace, the consular agent at the Brazilian embassy in Thailand has already had contact with the Brazilian to check on the young woman’s psychological health and physical integrity.
“Thailand is currently going through the fifth wave of the pandemic and also has an overpopulation of prisons, so there has to be a schedule and an appointment. As soon as they make videoconferencing available, she will have access to family members”, says Marrace.
The attorney defending Mary Hellen said he is in contact with a law firm in Thailand, negotiating for them to take on the case on a pro bono (free of charge) basis. If there is no agreement, the young woman will be entitled to a public defender, through the Brazilian embassy and the Thai authorities.
“We need support in Thailand to play the role there, because the family cannot afford [de pagar um advogado particular no país asiático] and I can’t afford to go to Bangkok”, he explains. “So it has to be a lawyer based in Bangkok who agrees to do it pro bono, to give this assistance to Mary Hellen.”
In the next few days, a preliminary hearing should be scheduled to hear the Brazilian. According to Marrace, the defense believes that the young woman can meet the legal requirements to seek a pardon, granted annually by the king of Thailand.
“She is a primary defendant and claims that she was deceived, that she did not know what was inside the suitcase. So, if we can prove all this to the Thai authorities, there is a possibility that she will get a royal pardon.”
Mary Hellen was born in Pouso Alegre (MG), a city about 400 kilometers from Belo Horizonte. She and two other Brazilians were arrested on February 14, after being caught with 15.5 kilos of cocaine when they disembarked at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok – the Minas Gerais woman with a boy on one flight and another young man on a second flight, hours later.
The Thai government suspects that the three are part of a group, because the drug – which is valued at 46.5 million bahtes (R$ 7.4 million) – was hidden in the same way.
One of the men was identified as Jordi Vilsinski Beffa, 24, from Apucarana (PR). His lawyer, Petrônio Cardoso was also looking for a Thai professional who would accept to defend Jordi for free in the country or for a minimum payment.
At the time of the arrest, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it “follows up the situation and provides all necessary assistance, in accordance with current international treaties and local legislation.”
According to Itamaraty, data from December 2020 — the most up-to-date — showed that there were 3,138 Brazilians arrested or detained abroad. In Thailand, the number reached 9 people.
