YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia – Erwiana Sulistyaningsih is one of a handful of supporters who welcomed Mary Jane Veloso’s family as they arrived in Yogyakarta on Monday evening, January 11, to visit the Filipina on death row for her 31st birthday.

With a big smile, she introduced herself, telling them she is a supporter of Mary Jane and that she visited the Filipina in prison over the Christmas holidays. (READ: Mary Jane’s mothers to Indonesians: Thank you for saving my daughter)

What she did not tell them is she too was a migrant worker, who gained worldwide attention in January 2014 after media shared her story as an Indonesian maid tortured under the hands of her employer.

When she was just 22 years old, Sulistyaningsih was physically abused by her employer for 8 months. She was beaten with a mop, a ruler, and a clothes hanger among others, leaving her unable to walk.

“I used to be a migrant worker. Even I was a victim of a syndicate. I was very severely abused by my boss while Mary Jane was cheated by her friend,” she told Rappler in Bahasa Indonesia on Tuesday, January 12.

Sulistyaningsih, who just turned 25, is back in Indonesia, at Yogyakarta where she is in university pursuing Economics. She is also a volunteer of the Network of Indonesian Migrant Workers Association and one of Mary Jane’s avid supporters – feeling connected to her due to the fate they both shared.

Sulistyaningsih was named one of TIME’s 100 Most Powerful People in April 2014, under the “Icons” category. The magazine cited her as an “inspiration” for other migrant workers abused by their employers, saying she “could not be broken, nor could she be silenced.”

Her employer was found guilty of abuse and now serves time in prison.

“I want her completely free because she’s only a victim,” said Sulistyaningsih.

Sulistyaningsih said her similarities to Mary Jane’s experience also drives her to continue to support Mary Jane.

“We both had no hope at first. She’s on death row, I was severely tortured. We had no hope whatsoever. But when the public learned about it, things changed,” she said.

“I was about to die myself and I was helped.”

Mary Jane made global headlines last April when she was set to be executed by firing squad for allegedly smuggling 2.6 kilograms of heroin into the predominantly Muslim country. Veloso was granted an 11th hour reprieve by the Indonesian government due to a last minute plea by President Benigno Aquino III as well as the surrender of her alleged recruiter, Maria Cristina Sergio. (READ: Saving Mary Jane, the face of OFWs)

Mary Jane maintains her innocence, saying she was framed by Sergio who told her there was a job waiting for her in Indonesia. She claims the suitcase she was carrying was gifted to her by Sergio. – Rappler.com