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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Rebecca Ratcliffe and Nica Cellini Catanes in Manila

Mother of Filipina who spent 15 years on death row in Indonesia calls for pardon

Mary Jane Veloso makes a hand heart gesture during a press conference shortly before her repatriation to the Philippines
Mary Jane Veloso was sentenced to death in 2010 for drug trafficking but has always denied the charges. Photograph: Adi Weda/EPA

The mother of Mary Jane Veloso, the Filipino domestic helper who spent almost 15 years on death row in Indonesia, has urged President Ferdinand Marcosto grant her daughter a pardon as she arrived back in the Philippines on Wednesday, ending a long battle by her supporters to bring her home.

“We cannot explain the joy of my husband and her children,” Veloso’s mother, Celia Veloso, 65, told the Guardian late on Tuesday. “We have been praying for my child to come home for a long time, and now she will be home.” She hopes her family can be reunited for Christmas.

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