A Filipina sentenced to death in Indonesia for drug trafficking, a case with twists and turns that shocked her compatriots, returned to her country on Wednesday where she was again incarcerated, AFP journalists noted.
The commercial flight on which Mary Jane Veloso took off from Jakarta arrived in Manila at dawn, Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique Manalo said.
She was taken to a women’s prison about an hour later, AFP journalists present at the scene noted.
His fate is now in the hands of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who has the right to pardon.
Ms. Veloso, 39 years old and mother of two children, was arrested in 2010 in Indonesia while carrying 2.6 kilos of heroin in her suitcase, then sentenced to death.
After years of negotiations, she benefited from an agreement between her country and the Indonesia of new President Prabowo Subianto canceling her possible execution.
“I hope our president (Ferdinand Marcos Jr.) will grant me pardon so that I can return to my family. I was imprisoned in Indonesia for 15 years for something I didn’t do,” Veloso told reporters after undergoing a medical examination in prison in Manila.
“We call on our president to quickly pardon Mary Jane. We hope he will do it as a Christmas gift to us,” added her mother, Celia Veloso.
Ferdinand Marcos Jr. thanked Indonesia on Wednesday for turning Ms. Veloso over to Philippine authorities, but made no mention of any pardon, amnesty or reduced sentence.
Philippine Department of Justice Undersecretary Raul Vasquez told reporters Wednesday that the pardon request would be “seriously considered.” If it is not granted, Ms. Veloso will be imprisoned for life, he added.
Sunday, five Australians who were serving long sentences for drug trafficking were also sent home by Jakarta.
Two other members of the same group were executed in 2015, despite requests from Canberra.
Indonesia has at least 530 convicts on death row, according to the rights association Kontras, citing official data, including 96 foreigners, including Frenchman Serge Atlaoui, 60, imprisoned since 2005 and for whom France is in talks.
– “New life” –
Mary Jane Veloso is banned from returning to Indonesia, according to Indonesian authorities.
Her conviction sparked an outcry in the Philippines, with her family and supporters saying she was innocent and had been the victim of an international drug trafficking ring.
At the end of November, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that Prabowo Subianto had agreed in principle to the repatriation of Ms. Veloso. An agreement providing that she be transferred with the status of detainee, but also that Ferdinand Marcos Jr. could grant her pardon upon her return to the Philippines.
The agreement also includes a reciprocity clause, should Indonesia request “similar assistance in the future” from Manila. The case of Gregor Johann Haas is particularly discussed in the press: this Australian detained in the Philippines is wanted by Jakarta for drug trafficking, which, if convicted, would expose him to the death penalty.
But according to Raul Vasquez, his transfer is “not on the table”. And in the event of an Indonesian request in this direction, it would be “studied with the greatest care”, he stressed.
During a press briefing at Jakarta International Airport, before being handed over to Philippine authorities, Ms. Veloso said she was “very happy today but to be honest, also a little sad because Indonesia is my second family.”
She then sang the Indonesian anthem.
“I hope you will all pray for me, I have to be strong,” she added.
“I have to go home because I have my family there, my children waiting for me,” she continued, saying she hoped to celebrate Christmas with them. “It’s a new life beginning for me, a new beginning in the Philippines.”
In 2015, the Philippine government obtained a last-minute reprieve to avoid her execution, after the arrest of a woman suspected of having recruited her and who was tried for human trafficking.
Ms. Veloso plans to use the skills she learned in detention, including local batik (fabric dyeing) techniques, to earn money for herself and her family.
Indonesia has one of the toughest drug laws in the world, carrying penalties up to death.
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