Freedom and Justice for Mary Jane Veloso Now!

Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD) appreciates the action taken by the governments of Indonesia and the Philippines in issuing the agreement to transfer custody of Mary Jane Veloso from Indonesia to the Philippines. After more than 14 years of imprisonment and uncertainty in Indonesia, Mary Jane Veloso was repatriated back to the Philippines on 18 December 2024 to be transported straight to a prison facility for women.

The agreement was realised through the signing of a practical arrangement by the Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, and the Philippines Undersecretary of Justice Raul T. Vasquez in Jakarta on 6 December 2024 as part of a commitment by both countries to diplomacy, international cooperation, and respect for the legal sovereignty of each country. No acknowledgement of the trafficking case nor her innocence. Under the agreement, Indonesia would respect any decision made by the Philippines after Mary Jane returned home, including granting clemency. However, she will be permanently banned from entering Indonesia.

Mary Jane Veloso is a Filipino woman migrant domestic worker who is a victim of human trafficking and exploitation. She was sentenced to death in 2010 for unwittingly smuggling drugs to Indonesia, but received a last-minute stay of execution in 2015 after the migrants-led mass movement’s campaign resonated globally in response to President Joko Widodo’s rejection of Philippine officials’ appeal to let her testify against her recruiter in the trafficking case in the Philippines. However, despite continued  demands for her freedom, the legal efforts to overturn the death sentence, which included two appeals for Judicial Review, were all rejected. Meanwhile, no investigation was conducted by Indonesian law enforcement into her trafficking case.

In 2019, the Supreme Court of the Philippines affirmed Mary Jane’s status as a victim of human trafficking. This allowed Mary Jane Veloso to testify against her recruiter and prove her innocence in the Philippines.,  In September 2022, a formal appeal for clemency by the Philippine Government was submitted to the Government of Indonesia. None of these were realised.

The transfer of Mary Jane from Indonesia to the Philippines coincided with the International Migrants Day, symbolising recognition of the long struggle to defend her rights and access to justice. Despite celebration and joy for her return to the Philippines and being more accessible to her family, Mary Jane still faces uncertainty as she has yet to be fully released and cleared from the criminal charges against her. It is a return to the Philippines – not to her home. The case of Mary Jane shows the failure of the criminal justice system in ensuring respect, protection and fulfilment of rights and access to justice for women migrants. Such injustices must never happen again. Mary Jane has been imprisoned for more than fourteen years in Indonesia for a crime that she did not do. 

We urge the Government of the Philippines to immediately grant a much-deserved clemency for Mary Jane Veloso, acknowledge her innocence and facilitate her access to a sustainable reintegration process. 

We also urge the Government of Indonesia to acknowledge Mary Jane Veloso as a victim of trafficking,  ensuring the access to justice and remedies for the harm caused to  her identity, dignity and life. 

APWLD stays committed in our solidarity with Mary Jane Veloso until she reclaims her freedom and justice is served. We support and share the petition to the Government of Philippines to ensure the safe return of Mary Jane Veloso back home to the Philippines and grant the immediate clemency for Mary Jane.