Death by firing squad
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- Published on Monday, 27 April 2015 09:51
- Written by editor





PAOV –Mary Jane is a 30-year-old single mother on death row in Indonesia. She is set to be executed by a firing squad tomorrow.
Campaigners in the Philippines, where Mary Jane is from, have started a petition and are hoping that global pressure will help Mary Jane in her last few hours. They say she, like other victims of human trafficking, was duped -- she thought that she was getting a job as a cleaner. She was instructed by her employer to carry a suitcase to Indonesia, which was lined with drugs and got her arrested. Campaigners say the traffickers should be punished, not the victims of trafficking.
The petition is being delivered today -- will you add your name and stand by thousands of others calling on the President of Indonesia to spare Mary Jane her life?



Indonesian Pres. Joko Widodo @jokowi_do2 : Save the Life of human trafficking victim Mary Jane Veloso


Philippines






We, the undersigned, concerned citizens from the Philippines as well as supporters from around the world, appeal for clemency and pardon for Mary Jane Veloso, sentenced to death by firing squad in Indonesia.
Mary Jane Veloso was taken into custody in Indonesia, due to the discovery of heroin in the lining of the suitcase that she carried to Indonesia. We believe that Mary Jane Veloso is a victim of Human Trafficking, who is innocent of knowingly carrying drugs.
Coming from a poor family in the northern Philippines, she had already once worked as a domestic worker (maid) in Dubai but returned to the Philippines after a few months. Mary Jane was the victim of attempted rape in her place of employment; she left her employer due to the continued threat and likelihood of being raped if she stayed.
Mary Jane’s efforts to find a new employer as a maid through job-placement agencies brought no work. Mary Jane was recruited by a family friend (God-sister) Kristina “Tintin” Sergio under the false information that she was being employed as a domestic worker (maid) in Malaysia. Even upon arrival in Malaysia, Mary Jane understood that she would be working as a maid. Mary Jane’s recruiter, who Mary Jane trusted as a friend, bought her clothes and personal items. Finally, her recruiter’s boyfriend gifted Mary Jane with a suitcase. Mary Jane insists that she had no knowledge of the drugs that were hidden in the lining of the suitcase.
Mary Jane’s situation merits special attention. As a single mother of two, young sons, Mary Jane was desperate for employment which made her vulnerable to the Human Traffickers. Not fluent in English and limited in formal education, Mary Jane was swept up in a flood of circumstances that resulted in her conviction: she had no legal counsel for most of the process, she did not understand most of the proceedings, and her family received death threats from the drug syndicate, warning them not to go to the media or seek help.
Now that Mary Jane’s family has come forward, we join the multitude and appeal for clemency and pardon for Mary Jane Veloso. Those who recruited and manipulated Mary Jane should be pursued, prosecuted, and convicted--not Mary Jane, who is a desperate and vulnerable victim of Human Trafficking.
Save the Life of Mary Jane Veloso! End Human Trafficking!

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