Filipina on Indonesia death row moved to Jakarta ahead of transfer home

Mary Jane Veloso described her release as a “miracle”. PHOTO: AFP

UPDATED Dec 16, 2024, 10:16 AM

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JAKARTA - 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 earlier in December to repatriate her.

Mother of two Mary Jane Veloso, 39, was arrested and sentenced to death in 2010 after the suitcase she was carrying was found to be lined with 2.6kg 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 on Dec 15 to another prison in Jakarta more than 418km away.

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 Dec 17.

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.