A mother-of-two who was spared from execution by 30 minutes after being convicted of trafficking drugs to Indonesia is on her way home to the Philippines under the same relocation deal as the Bali Nine.
Filipina maid Mary Jane Veloso, 40, was due to be executed by firing squad alongside Australian drug smugglers Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran on April 30, 2015.
But Veloso was saved with minutes to spare thanks to the efforts of a quick-thinking Melbourne barrister, Felicity Gerry, who provided her team with crucial legal advice that convinced Indonesian authorities she may have been duped into the crime.
Ms Gerry became involved in Veloso’s case on April 7, 2015 – purely by chance – after being emailed a petition aimed to save her from death row.
‘I thought I’m not going to sign this (petition), I’m going to help,’ Ms Gerry told Daily Mail Australia.
‘I think it’s part of our duty as a barrister that if you have some knowledge that can help a case you should share it.’
And she just happened to have the documents in front of her- human trafficking agreements signed by Indonesia and the Philippines – that were key to saving Veloso’s life.
Veloso was a single mum and an impoverished maid who had been duped into taking a job as a domestic servant overseas.
Mary Jane Veloso waves to media before her transfer to Jakarta after Indonesia and the Philippines signed an agreements to repatriate her after she was jailed in 2010
Veloso described her return home as being ‘like a miracle when I have lost all hope’
Veloso is seen in Indonesia’s Wirogunan prison in 2015. She was duped into carrying a suitcase filled with drugs
Melbourne barrister Felicity Gerry stepped in at the final hour
The Veloso family, including her two young sons
As payment for the recruitment agency, she handed over cash, her moped and mobile phone to the agency and flew to Malaysia to begin work.
However, once she landed in Kuala Lumpur, Veloso was told by her recruiter, Maria Kristina Sergio, that the position had fallen through, but a new role had been found in Indonesia.
Veloso was taken shopping for new clothes and given a suitcase, which had 2.6kg of heroin hidden inside. Sergio also allegedly provided the suitcase where the drugs were found.
In April 2010, customs authorities found the drugs with a street value of almost $1million at Yogyakarta airport in Indonesia and arrested Veloso.
After her trial, Veloso was sentenced to death for drug trafficking.
While Ms Gerry and a team of Veloso’s supporters worked frantically to convince Indonesia not to kill her, Veloso was transferred to Nusakambangan, known as ‘Death Island’.
Ms Gerry’s advice led the Filipino recruiters including Sergio who preyed upon Veloso being prosecuted and Philippine authorities launching the emergency bid that saved her life.
The race against time – which saw then-Philippine President Beningo Aquino hold an emergency meeting with Indonesian president Joko Widodo – paid off.
With minutes to spare, she was taken back to her cell as eight other drug convicted smugglers, including Australians Chan and Sukumaran, were killed. But she was still on death row.
‘She was not executed, but she was kept in prison and remained at risk of execution,’ Ms Gerry recalled.
‘For a long time we didn’t know if she would ever be safe.’
Mary Jane Veloso receives a health check from Indonesian officials at the Jakarta Women; Prison before her transfer back to the Philippines
The armoured vehicle was used to transfer Veloso to her panned execution
Australian’s Andrew Chan (right) and Myuran Sukumaran were killed by the firing squad
Veloso was moved on Sunday to a female prison in Jakarta from where she will be flown back to the Philippines early on Wednesday, I Nyoman Gede Surya Mataram, an official at the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections, said.
Veloso, now aged 40, described her return home as being ‘like a miracle when I have lost all hope’.
‘For almost 15 years I was separated from my children and parents, and I could not see my children grow up,’ she said. ‘
‘I wish to be given an opportunity to take care of my children and to be close to my parents.’
Ms Gerry told Daily Mail Australia that she was ‘elated’ about Veloso’s release.
‘I want her to be with her family and children,’ Ms Gerry said.
‘I have been over to the Philippines and met her parents and am just so happy this has finally happened.’
Ms Veloso’s mother, Celia, 65, told reporters: ‘We can finally be together this Christmas.
‘This might be the happiest Christmas we will ever have as a family.’
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk