Mary Jane Veloso freed after sixteen years on death row
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In 2010, Mary Jane Veloso, a former overseas Filipino worker, left the Philippines for Malaysia but was arrested in Indonesia after heroin was found hidden in her suitcase.
Authorities discovered 2.6 kilograms of the drug at Yogyakarta’s Adisucipto International Airport, leading to a death sentence for Veloso on charges of drug trafficking. For years, Veloso’s family and the Philippine government appealed for clemency, reaching out to multiple Indonesian presidents and seeking a review of her case.
Veloso received a last-minute reprieve from execution in 2015, allowing her time to testify against those who recruited her. In 2024, after more than fourteen years in Indonesian detention, she was transferred to a prison in the Philippines. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto allowed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to consider granting her clemency. On September 25, 2026, President Marcos Jr. granted Mary Jane Veloso absolute pardon, ending her long legal battle and releasing her from criminal liability.
This pardon restores her civil and political rights, concluding a case that spanned nearly two decades and involved three Philippine presidents.
