Mary Jane Veloso Pardon Marks Shift in Victim Protection

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - The release of Mary Jane Veloso after 16 years in prison is being hailed by Indonesia’s National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) as a milestone moment to strengthen victim‑centered approaches in handling narcotics cases involving women and to reinforce protections for female migrant workers.

Komnas Perempuan member Yuni Asriyanti congratulated Veloso and her family, welcoming the absolute pardon granted by Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on September 24, 2026.

The decision ended Veloso’s legal ordeal, which included nearly 15 years in Indonesian custody, ten of which under the shadow of a firing squad. “This is the fruit of long‑term, cross‑border human rights advocacy,” Yuni said in Jakarta on Friday, October 2, 2026, as quoted by Antara.

Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina migrant worker, was arrested at Yogyakarta’s Adisucipto Airport in April 2010 after authorities found 2.6 kilograms of heroin hidden in her suitcase.

She consistently maintained that she was duped by recruiters who promised her employment abroad, making her an unwitting victim of human trafficking.

In 2015, her scheduled execution in Indonesia was halted at the last minute following appeals from the Philippine government and human rights groups, sparking international attention and sustained advocacy for her release.

Since 2015, Komnas Perempuan has consistently argued that Veloso was a victim of human trafficking, exploited as a courier in an international drug smuggling scheme. Its fact‑finding report that year became a key reference for many parties reassessing her case.

Veloso’s execution was suspended at the last minute on April 29, 2015, and Komnas Perempuan continued advocacy efforts that eventually led to her transfer of prisoner status in December 2024, a step that paved the way to freedom.

Yuni stressed that Veloso’s case reflects the layered vulnerabilities faced by women, not an isolated incident. Komnas Perempuan’s 2023 records show 15 women on death row, most entangled in narcotics cases where gender‑based vulnerabilities were exploited. ***