Sentenced to the death penalty in 2009 after being arrested for possession of heroin, Mary Jane Veloso arrived in Manila on Wednesday. From now on, it is up to the Philippine president to grant him clemency or not.
She will have been on death row for years. Until the day she was almost executed. But ultimately, Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso, originally from the Philippines, was released from prison in Jakarta, Indonesia, and repatriated to Manila on Wednesday, CNN reports.
15 years ago, she was arrested at Yogyakarta airport after 2.6 kg of heroin was found in her suitcases and sentenced to death.
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Contacted by a pseudo-recruiter to become a domestic worker
In 2009, at the age of 25, this single mother of two children, who grew up in a poor family, decided to leave her native country to work. It’s a fake recruiter, Maria Kristina Sergio, who tells him that a job as a domestic worker awaits him there. The latter also provides him with the suitcase, inside which the drugs were discovered.
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She was quickly sentenced to the death penalty, Indonesia being one of the strictest countries in terms of drug trafficking. In the Philippines, this conviction caused a real outcry in public opinion.
Five years pass and in 2015, she is sent to an island prison to be executed with eight others. Among them, a Frenchman, Serge Atlaoui, who is still in Jakarta. But at the last moment, Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso is ultimately not put to death. A last minute twist occurred in the investigation: the pseudo recruiter Maria Kristina has just been arrested.
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A horde of people on his return, including his children
This Wednesday, after having served 9 additional years, she was finally able to return to her country. At the Manila airport, she was greeted by her relatives, including her two sons, aged 1 and 6 at the time of her arrest.
Still considered a prisoner, she was escorted to a van. Her parents let tears flow, regretting not being able to approach her after so many years away from their daughter. A large banner was also displayed: “Welcome home Mary Jane”.
This repatriation to the Philippines was made possible by a “practical arrangement” to promote the transfer of prisoners signed between the two countries. The Philippine authorities welcomed their agreement with their Indonesian counterparts. “Let me thank the Indonesian government for its sincere and decisive action that allowed Mary Jane Veloso to return home before Christmas,” Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo said in a statement.
Will the president grant him clemency?
Mary Jane Veloso was then transferred to a women’s prison in the capital, where her relatives and her lawyer spent a few hours with her on Wednesday.
Now, a question arises: will the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, grant him clemency? For the moment, the presidential palace has not communicated its final decision.
I hope the president can grant clemency to Mary Jane
Célia Veloso, mother of Mary Jane
When she arrived at the penitentiary center, the prisoner was greeted by hundreds of people. Everyone chanted the same thing: “Clemency for Mary Jane” and “Free, free Mary Jane.”
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