--- description: A massive social-media campaign has kicked off in support of Mary Jane Veloso, the Filipina maid set to face the firing squad in indonesia title: The Internet Is Begging Indonesia to Spare a Filipina's Life image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt077a46ad2d4328b1/6987eca3f887dcafebe8e1d3/rtx1a2cc.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [indonesia](/tag/indonesia/) ## indonesia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Internet Is Begging the Indonesian Government to Spare a Filipina Single Mother's Life by [Yenni Kwok](/author/yenni-kwok/) ## Yenni Kwok Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 24, 2015 6:51 AM CUT  A protester holds a placard urging the Philippine and Indonesian governments to save Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina facing execution in Indonesia, during a protest in front of the Indonesian embassy in Manila on April 24, 2015 A protester holds a placard urging the Philippine and Indonesian governments to save Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina facing execution in Indonesia, during a protest in front of the Indonesian embassy in Manila on April 24, 2015Romeo Ranoco—Reuters by [Yenni Kwok](/author/yenni-kwok/) ## Yenni Kwok Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 24, 2015 6:51 AM CUT As the executions of 10 drug convicts loom in Indonesia, a massive social-media campaign has kicked off in support of Mary Jane Veloso, the Filipina maid set to face the firing squad. The hashtag #MaryJane was the No. 2 trending topic on Indonesia’s Twittersphere on Friday morning, hours after Veloso was transferred to the execution island of Nusakambangan. As her family flew to the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta, where Veloso was held, Indonesians rallied to urge President Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, to spare the life of the 30-year-old migrant worker. Indonesian celebrity chef Rahung Nasution launched a tweet storm on Friday morning, detailing how Veloso ended up in an Indonesian prison and how the Indonesian government handled her case. “Jokowi is not battling drugs. He is executing poor women, like the migrant workers in Saudi Arabia!! #MaryJane,” Rahung [tweeted](https://twitter.com/rahung/status/591443911551414273 "undefined"), referring to the two Indonesian domestic workers executed in the Middle East country last week. Dewi Candraningrum, the chief editor of feminist magazine _Jurnal Perempuan_ (Women’s Journal), uploaded her charcoal-on-paper drawing _Mary Jane_ and [tweeted,](https://twitter.com/dcandraningrum/status/591426929229701120 "undefined") “She is a victim of trafficking. Is my President a murderer?” The National Commission on Violence Against Women also [posted](https://twitter.com/KomnasPerempuan/status/591500269990510592 "undefined") a series of tweets on why the government should not execute Veloso. One Twitter user [wrote,](https://twitter.com/just%5Foci/status/591470556236517378 "undefined") “I agree with death penalty for drug cases, as long as it’s for big-time drug dealers, not couriers or duped victims like #MaryJane.” Another [tweeted,](https://twitter.com/ANDlMANU/status/591456804984397824 "undefined") “Sorry for #MaryJane how is it possible for a victim of a drug dealer is sentenced to death. As if people’s life is a plaything.” While local support for other foreign drug convicts has been muted, there is a wider sympathy toward Veloso, a single mother of two, who said she was not a drug dealer but a victim of trafficking and was duped into carrying narcotics into the country. She was initially promised a job in Malaysia, but upon arrival there, she was told her job was in Indonesia. While in Malaysia, the drugs were secretly sewn into a suitcase she was lent, her family said. She was arrested at Yogyakarta airport in April 2010 after authorities found 2.6 kg of heroin in her suitcase. She was found guilty and sentenced to death later that year. Veloso launched her first appeal in March, questioning the competence of the translator provided to her during the trial, but it was rejected by the Indonesian Supreme Court. She was transferred from Yogyakarta’s prison to Nusakambangan execution island at 1 a.m. on Friday. On Friday, the Philippine government [filed](http://www.rappler.com/world/regions/asia-pacific/indonesia/bahasa/englishedition/91045-philippines-mary-jane-veloso-second-appeal "undefined") a second appeal for judicial review on behalf of Veloso in another attempt to save her life. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3834113/mary-jane-veloso-indonesia-philippines-death-row-jokowi/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3834113/mary-jane-veloso-indonesia-philippines-death-row-jokowi/"},"headline":"The Internet Is Begging the Indonesian Government to Spare a Filipina Single Mother's Life","datePublished":"2015-04-24T06:51:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T06:38:55.708Z","description":"\"Is my President a murderer?”","url":"https://time.com/3834113/mary-jane-veloso-indonesia-philippines-death-row-jokowi/","keywords":["indonesia","Drugs","Philippines","Death Penalty","narcotics","Joko Widodo","Jokowi"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt077a46ad2d4328b1/6987eca3f887dcafebe8e1d3/rtx1a2cc.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Yenni Kwok","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/yenni-kwok/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt077a46ad2d4328b1/6987eca3f887dcafebe8e1d3/rtx1a2cc.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A protester holds a placard urging the Philippine and Indonesian government to save Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina facing execution in Indonesia, during a protest in front of the Indonesian embassy in Makati city","caption":"A protester holds a placard urging the Philippine and Indonesian government to save Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina facing execution in Indonesia, during a protest in front of the Indonesian embassy in Makati city","creditText":"Romeo Ranoco—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/indonesia/","name":"indonesia"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3834113/mary-jane-veloso-indonesia-philippines-death-row-jokowi/","name":"The Internet Is Begging the Indonesian Government to Spare a Filipina Single Mother's Life"}}]}] ```