The family of Donna Nelson have thanked Foreign Minister Penny Wong for expressing “genuine concern” about the Perth grandmother being held in a Japanese prison for more than 18 months and having her drug smuggling trial delayed.
Ms Nelson’s relatives had their first meeting with Senator Wong on Monday via Microsoft Teams after the Federal Government was criticised for not doing enough to intervene in the prominent Indigenous community leader’s case.
The meeting went for about 30 minutes.
“Penny Wong was very empathetic and expressed genuine concern about the whole situation,” Ms Nelson’s family told The West Australian.
The 57-year-old Ballardong Njaki-Njaki woman was due to face trial last week with the verdict expected on July 11 but at the eleventh hour, the prosecution introduced new evidence, delaying the proceedings for possibly another six months.
Ms Nelson, a former Greens candidate, was arrested at Narita Airport in Tokyo on January 4, 2023, after nearly 2kg of methamphetamine was allegedly found inside her suitcase.
Her family claims she was duped into delivering the drugs to Japan from South-East Asia by a Nigerian man she met online.
Senator Wong said her thoughts were with Ms Nelson and her family as they awaited a new trial date.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to her and her family,” Senator Wong said in a statement.
“We are also making representations to the Japanese Government about her welfare and the legal proceedings.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last week vowed to always stand up for citizens in trouble overseas after WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange touched down on Australian soil.
Human rights advocate Martin Hodgson previously told The West Ms Nelson was a “victim of a failed policy for decades” and argued the Government had to do more to fulfil its constitutional right to provide support to its citizens.