How an Aussie saved the life of a Bali Nine jailmate – rescuing her from a firing squad just minutes before she was due to die. And now she’s received the best news of all
A mother-of-two who was spared half an hour of execution after being convicted of drug trafficking to Indonesia is on her way home to the Philippines under the same relocation deal as the Bali Nine.
Filipino maid Mary Jane Veloso, 40, was scheduled to be executed by firing squad on April 30, 2015, along with Australian drug smugglers Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.
But Veloso was saved with minutes to spare thanks to the efforts of a quick-thinking Melbourne lawyer, Felicity Gerry, who provided her team with crucial legal advice that convinced Indonesian authorities that she may have been duped in the crime.
Ms Gerry became involved in Veloso’s case on April 7, 2015 – purely by chance – after receiving an email petition aimed at saving 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 lawyers that if you have any knowledge that can help a case, you should share it.”
And she happened to be carrying the documents – human trafficking agreements signed by Indonesia and the Philippines – that were crucial to saving Veloso’s life.
Veloso was a single mother and an impoverished maid who had been tricked into taking a job as a housekeeper abroad.
Mary Jane Veloso waves to the media before being transferred to Jakarta after Indonesia and the Philippines signed an agreement to repatriate her after she was imprisoned in 2010
Veloso described her return home as ‘a miracle when I have lost all hope’
Veloso is seen in Indonesia’s Wirogunan prison in 2015. She was tricked into carrying a suitcase full of drugs
Melbourne lawyer Felicity Gerry intervened at the last 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 start work.
However, when she landed in Kuala Lumpur, Veloso was told by her recruiter, Maria Kristina Sergio, that the position had fallen through, but that a new role had been found in Indonesia.
Veloso was taken to buy new clothes and given a suitcase with 2.6kg of heroin hidden inside. Sergio is also said to have supplied the suitcase in which the drugs were found.
In April 2010, customs authorities found the drugs with a street value of almost $1 million 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 frantically tried to convince Indonesia not to kill her, Veloso was taken to Nusakambangan, known as ‘Death Island’.
Ms Gerry’s advice led to the prosecution of the Filipino recruiters, including Sergio, who preyed on Veloso, and to Philippine authorities launching an emergency bid that saved her life.
The race against time, in which then Philippine President Beningo Aquino held an emergency meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, has paid off.
With minutes to spare, she was returned to her cell as eight other convicted drug smugglers, including Australians Chan and Sukumaran, were murdered. But she was still on death row.
“She was not executed, but she was held in prison and was still at risk of execution,” Mrs. 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 Jakarta Women officials; Prison before being transferred to the Philippines
The armored vehicle was used to transport Veloso to her scheduled execution
Australian Andrew Chan (right) and Myuran Sukumaran were killed by firing squad
Veloso was transferred Sunday to a women’s prison in Jakarta, from where she will be flown back to the Philippines early Wednesday, said I Nyoman Gede Surya Mataram, an official with the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections.
Veloso, now 40 years old, described her return home as “a miracle when I have lost all hope.”
“For almost 15 years, I was separated from my children and parents, and I couldn’t see my children grow up,” she said. ‘
‘I would like to have the opportunity to take care of my children and be close to my parents.’
Ms Gerry told Daily Mail Australia she was “delighted” by Veloso’s release.
“I want her to be with her family and children,” Mrs Gerry said.
“I went to the Philippines and met her parents and I’m so happy this 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.”