Press release
April 25, 2025
To mark the 15th year since the arrest of detained trafficking victim Mary Jane Veloso, the Network for the Protection of Women Migrant Rights on Friday announced a global month of action to call for her freedom and justice.
April 25, 2025 marks 15 years since Veloso’s arrest in Yogyakarta, Indonesia where she was sentenced to death after human traffickers slipped drugs into her possession without her knowledge and sent her to the country. Mary Jane received a last-minute reprieve from execution in 2015 after a migrant-led global campaign called on the Indonesian president to save her life.
Last December 2024, she was transferred back to the Philippines after a practical agreement signed between the Indonesian and the Philippine governments for a transfer of prisoners. Veloso is now in her fourth month of detention in the Correctional Institute of Women in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila.
Four months have passed since Veloso’s repatriation and Philippine detention, with no certainty from the Philippine government for her justice and clemency on humanitarian grounds.
In a joint statement, the network of women and migrant advocates called on the Marcos Jr. administration to grant Veloso her long-sought justice.
“We specifically urge the Government of the Philippines to grant Mary Jane clemency, immediate and unconditional freedom for humanitarian grounds and as a matter of justice,” said the Network for the Protection of Women Migrant Rights in its joint statement.
The network also asserted that the Philippine government must act on the human trafficking case against Mary Jane’s recruiters to ensure that her traffickers are held accountable.
To show global clamor for Veloso’s clemency and freedom this May, the group enjoined other women advocates to lead and participate in actions. Forms of action proposed by the network include protests at Philippine embassies and consulates, lobbying to politicians around the world, community forums, and the production of art in support of Mary Jane Veloso.
“We call on all women migrant leaders, women’s rights leaders and human rights defenders to join us in solidarity in the struggle for Mary Jane’s freedom and ensure that truth and justice prevail,” said the Network for the Protection of Women Migrant Rights.
The network comprises the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development, the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants, the Coordination of Action Research on AIDS and Mobility Asia, GABRIELA, the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women, the International Women’s Alliance, and Migrante International. The network is also supported by Churches Witnessing with Migrants.
The statement was endorsed by Philippine Representative Arlene Brosas of Gabriela Women’s Party and former Representative Liza Maza of Makabayan.
The network’s statement also received overseas endorsements from Bangladeshi Member of Parliament Ms. Mahjabeen Khaled, Indonesian Representative to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights Ms. Yuyun Wahyuningrum, and Indonesian Commissioner of the Indonesian National Commission on Violence Against Women Ms. Yuni Asriyanti.###
Attached to this release is the full statement and call to action by the Network for the Protection of Women Migrant Rights.
