Mary Jane Veloso transferred to Jakarta ahead of return to PH

Filipina inmate on death row in Indonesia Mary Jane Veloso waves to journalists at the Yogyakarta Class IIB Women’s Correctional Institution in Wonosari, Yogyakarta, on December 15, 2024, before her transfer to Jakarta after Indonesia and the Philippines signed an agreement last week to repatriate her. Agence France-Presse

JAKARTA — Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina inmate on death row in Indonesia, was moved to the capital Jakarta before she is expected to fly home later this week, after the government signed an agreement with Manila this month to repatriate her.

Mother of two Veloso, 39, was arrested and sentenced to death in 2010 after the suitcase she was carrying was found to be lined with 2.6 kilograms (5.7 pounds) of heroin, in a case that sparked uproar in the Philippines.

Officers picked her up from a women’s prison in Yogyakarta province in eastern Java island, an AFP journalist present said, before transporting her late Sunday to another prison in Jakarta more than 260 miles (418 kilometers) away.

READ: PH, Indonesia agree on repatriation of Mary Jane Veloso

From there she will eventually be flown back to the Philippines at a later date.

Indonesian government officials say her transfer to the Philippines could take place as early as Tuesday.

Foreign affairs ministry spokesman Roy Soemirat said they did not yet “have any formal information from our law enforcement agency on the details” of her transfer.

The Philippine embassy in Jakarta did not respond to a request for comment.

READ: Mary Jane Veloso says ‘miracle’ repatriation God’s answer to prayer

Both she and her supporters said she was duped by an international drug syndicate, and in 2015, she narrowly escaped execution after her suspected recruiter was arrested.

She told AFP on Friday in her first interview since the agreement between the two governments that her release was a “miracle”.

Muslim-majority Indonesia has some of the world’s toughest drug laws and has executed foreigners in the past.

At least 530 people were on death row in the Southeast Asian nation, mostly for drug-related crimes, according to data from rights group KontraS, citing official figures.

According to data from Indonesia’s Ministry of Immigration and Corrections, 96 foreigners were on death row, all on drug charges, as of early November.