SEMARANG, Indonesia – Eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao said he will visit a Filipina on death row in Indonesia on Friday and also plans to raise her case with President Joko Widodo.
Mary Jane Veloso was sentenced to death in Indonesia after being arrested in 2009 with 2.6 kilograms of heroin sewn into the lining of her suitcase.
She was set to face the firing squad in April with several other foreign drug convicts but was granted an 11th hour reprieve after a woman suspected of recruiting her was arrested in the Philippines. The alleged recruiter and an accomplice now face charges in the Philippines.
After Veloso was given a reprieve, the Indonesian government stressed the decision was only a “postponement’’ to allow time for police investigations.
The single mother of two young children has always maintained her innocence, claiming she was duped by an international human-trafficking gang into bringing the drugs into Indonesia.
Her case attracted huge attention in both Indonesia and the Philippines, with near daily rallies of support and celebrities, including Philippine star Pacquiao, pleading for her life to be spared.
Pacquiao, who arrived in Indonesia on Tuesday, said he would meet Veloso in prison later this week.