PH, Indonesia agree on repatriation of Mary Jane Veloso

Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra (L) and the Philippines’ Undersecretary at the Department of Justice Raul Vasquez (R) exchange signed documents regarding the plan to repatriate death row inmate Mary Jane Veloso in Jakarta on December 6, 2024.  Indonesia and the Philippines signed an agreement on December 6, 2024 to send Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina on death row for drug charges in Indonesia since 2015, back to her home country. (Photo by BAY ISMOYO / AFP)

JAKARTA – Indonesia and the Philippines signed an agreement Friday to send Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina on death row for drug charges in Indonesia since 2015, back to her home country.

The announcement came following the Philippines’ Department of Justice undersecretary Raul Vasquez meeting with Indonesia’s senior law and human rights minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra in Jakarta Friday, where both ministers signed the agreement.

Following the signing, Indonesian authorities will discuss further details with the Philippines’ embassy in Jakarta on Veloso’s transfer, which is expected to occur before December 25, Yusril said.

Filipina drug convict and death row prisoner Mary Jane Veloso, clad in traditional Indonesian attire, is seen during a program celebrating Kartini Day in honor of Indonesian national hero and women’s rights activist Raden Kartini at Yogyakarta prison on April 21, 2015. (Photo by Tarko SUDIARNO / Agence France-Presse)

“We agree to return the person concerned to the Philippines and furthermore the obligation to provide guidance to prisoner Mary Jane Veloso becomes the responsibility of the Philippine government,” Yusril said Friday.

He added that they are hoping the transfer “will be carried out before Christmas, 25 December.”

Mary Jane Veloso was arrested in Indonesia in 2010 carrying a suitcase lined with 2.6 kilograms (5.7 pounds) of heroin and later sentenced to death.

She was due to face the firing squad in 2015 but the Philippine government won a last-minute reprieve for her after a woman suspected of recruiting her was arrested and put on trial for human trafficking in which Veloso was named as a prosecution witness.

The mother-of-two’s case sparked an uproar in the Philippines, with her family and supporters saying she was innocent and had been set up by an international drug syndicate.

Indonesia has some of the world’s toughest drug laws including the death penalty for traffickers.