Filipina who won a last-minute reprieve from Indonesian firing squad prepares to fly home

YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A Filipina who was on death row in Indonesia and was nearly executed by firing squad in 2015 will return home this week under an arrangement between the countries, officials said Monday.

Mary Jane Veloso, who spent almost 15 years in an Indonesian prison for drug trafficking, won a last-minute reprieve that led to her testimony exposing how a criminal syndicate duped her into being an unwitting accomplice and drug courier.

Veloso was moved late Sunday to a a female prison in Indonesia’s capital, from where she will be flown back to the Philippines early Wednesday, I Nyoman Gede Surya Mataram, an official at the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections, told a news conference.

Her repatriation was made possible by a “practical arrangement” signed between the two countries on Dec. 6, after a decade of pleading from Manila.

In a tearful interview with The Associated Press last week, Veloso 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."

Veloso, who will turn 40 next month, was arrested in 2010 at an airport in the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta, where officials discovered about 2.6 kilograms (5.7 pounds) of heroin hidden in her luggage. The single mother of two sons was convicted and sentenced to death.

Her case caused a public outcry in the Philippines. She traveled to Indonesia in 2010, where her recruiter, Maria Kristina Sergio, reportedly told her a job as a domestic worker awaited her. Sergio also allegedly provided the suitcase where the drugs were found.

In 2015, Indonesia moved Veloso to an island prison where she and eight other drug convicts were scheduled to be executed by firing squad despite objections from their home countries Australia, Brazil, France, Ghana and Nigeria.

Indonesia executed the eight but Veloso was granted a stay of execution because Sergio was arrested in the Philippines just two days before.

In the Philippines, Veloso's two sons told GMA News network they're are excited to be reunited with their mother after the long wait. They were 1 and 6 years old when she was arrested in 2010.

“I will hug her tight. I really missed my Mama,” said Mark Darren Candelaria, Veloso’s youngest son, told GMA News network. “Hopefully before Christmas my Mama can be freed and she can go home so our Christmas and New Year will be happy.”

The family is appealing to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to grant Veloso executive clemency.

Indonesia’s last executions of an Indonesia and three foreigners were carried out in July 2016.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime says Indonesia is a major drug smuggling hub despite having some of the strictest drug laws in the world, in part because international drug syndicates target its young population.

About 530 people are on death row in Indonesia, mostly for drug-related crimes, including 96 foreigners, the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections’ data showed last month.

Five Australians who spent almost 20 years in Indonesian prisons for heroin trafficking returned to Australia on Sunday under a deal struck between the Indonesian and Australian governments.

Indonesia recently agreed in principle to return a French man and a British woman, both on death row, to their home countries.

Karmini reported from Jakarta, Indonesia. Associated Press journalist Dita Alangkara contributed to this report.

Filipino death row inmate Mary Jane Veloso gestures to the media as she leaves Yogyakarta Women's Prison for her transfer to the capital city of Jakarta in preparation for her repatriation to the Philippines, in Gunung Kidul, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Slamet Riyadi)

Filipino death row inmate Mary Jane Veloso gestures as she leaves Yogyakarta Women's Prison for her transfer to the capital city of Jakarta in preparation for her repatriation to the Philippines, in Gunung Kidul, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Slamet Riyadi)

Filipino death row inmate Mary Jane Veloso waves to the media as she leaves Yogyakarta Women's Prison for her transfer to the capital city of Jakarta in preparation for her repatriation to the Philippines, in Gunung Kidul, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Slamet Riyadi)

Filipino death row inmate Mary Jane Veloso gestures to the media as she leaves Yogyakarta Women's Prison for her transfer to the capital city of Jakarta in preparation for her repatriation to the Philippines, in Gunung Kidul, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Slamet Riyadi)

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — Slovenia’s parliament on Friday appointed right-wing populist politician Janez Jansa as the new prime minister, in a shift for the small European Union country that was previously run by a liberal government.

Lawmakers backed Jansa in a 51-36 vote in the 90-member assembly. The new prime minister will need to come back to Parliament within the next 15 days for another vote to confirm his future Cabinet.

Jansa's appointment concludes a postelection stalemate in Slovenia after a parliamentary ballot two months ago ended practically in a tie. Former liberal Prime Minister Robert Golob's Freedom Movement won by a thin margin but he was unable to muster a parliamentary majority.

Jansa and his populist Slovenian Democratic Party signed a coalition agreement this week with several right-wing groups. The new government also has the backing of a nonestablishment Truth party that first emerged as an anti-vaccination movement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new term in office will be the fourth for the veteran Slovenian politician. Jansa, 67, is an admirer of U.S. President Donald Trump and was a close ally of former populist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who was defeated in a landslide election last month.

Jansa in a speech listed the economy, fight against corruption and red tape, and decentralization as key goals of the future government. He has promised to lower taxes for the rich and support private education and healthcare.

Critical of the previous government's alleged “inefficiency," Jansa said the new government will turn Slovenia into “a country of opportunity, prosperity and justice, where each responsible citizen will feel safe and accepted."

Like Orban, Jansa was staunchly anti-immigrant during the huge migration wave to Europe in 2015. Also like Orban, Jansa has faced accusations of clamping down on democratic institutions and press freedoms during a previous term in 2020-2022. This led to protests at the time, and scrutiny from the European Union.

Golob in his speech described Jansa as “the greatest threat to Slovenia’s sovereignty and democracy."

Alleging that Jansa had threatened to arrest him, Golob said Jansa's "idea of democracy is that anyone who dares speak a word against you deserves only the worst.”

Jansa, a supporter of Israel, also has been a stern critic of the Golob government's 2024 recognition of a Palestinian state.

The vote on March 22 was marred by allegations of foreign influence and corruption. The around 2 million people in the Alpine nation are deeply divided between liberals and conservatives.

Janez Jansa, center, addresses the Slovenian Parliament during a session in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)

Janez Jansa arrives for a session of the Slovenian Parliament in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)

Janez Jansa addresses the Slovenian Parliament during a session in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)