‘A living hero’: Philippines welcomes back death row survivor Mary Jane Veloso

Supporters say her drug smuggling conviction embodies the deepest fears of families in a country that sends millions of workers abroad each year

After 14 years on death row in Indonesia, Mary Jane Veloso arrived in Manila on Wednesday to the tight embrace of her family. Their eyes were swollen from tears of joy, yet their faces were lit up with big smiles.

It was a homecoming and family reunion that has brought early Christmas cheer to a country that has stood by her and her fight for justice. Convicted of drug trafficking in 2010, she narrowly escaped death by firing squad in April 2015. She has always maintained her innocence, saying she was duped into carrying a suitcase containing drugs as she travelled to a new job abroad.

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