Australian citizen Maria Exposto, 55, was acquitted by the Federal Court of Malaysia after being sentenced to death for drug trafficking.

The decision with Maria Exposto was approved by the Federal Court in Kuala Lumpur today, which canceled the death sentence in the form of hanging by the first instance court.

Exposto was arrested in transit in Kuala Lumpur in 2014 on a journey from Shanghai, China to Melbourne, Australia. In May 2018, the Australian citizen was sentenced to death by the first court for transporting more than one kilogram of ice.

However, the Malaysian government then issued an order to postpone the execution of the hangman with Ms. Exposto in the context of the country is reforming the law, to eliminate the death penalty on charges of drug trafficking and many other crimes.

Ms. Exposto has repeatedly complained, saying she was acquainted with an online boyfriend, who claimed to be an American soldier stationed in Afghanistan, because she carried a bag of goods but did not know that it was ice. "She was innocent. We always believed she was innocent," Shafee Abdullah, an attorney for Exposto, told reporters outside the court today.

"This sentence has made a big impact. It will be a lesson for the judges. This is also an example of how innocent women can become victims of cyber fraud," Shafee added.

Lawyer Shafee said that after being acquitted by the court and immediately released, Exposto is applying for an exit permit to the Malaysian authorities to return to Australia, because her transit visa has expired from long. She is scheduled to go home tomorrow.

Malaysia has executed three Australian citizens for drug trafficking over the past 30 years, causing tensions in diplomatic relations between the two countries.