Indonesian grandmother freed from Malaysia’s death row after 15 years returns home

An Indonesian grandmother who spent 15 years on death row in Malaysia for drug trafficking has returned home after receiving clemency, a case highlighting the exploitation of vulnerable migrant women in cross-border drug operations.

Indonesian Woman Returns Home After Clemency

Ani Anggraeni – a name given to her by her trafficker without her knowledge – boarded a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta on Thursday after being granted a pardon by the governor of Penang on March 19, just before Eid al-Fitr.

The 66-year-old, whose real name is Asih, had never travelled abroad before being deceived into carrying drugs across borders in 2011. “I feel like it’s unreal, but it’s real,” she told the South China Morning Post. “I can only be grateful to return to Indonesia and meet my family.”

Asih left Indonesia in 2011 after a woman named Duwi offered her a job as a carer in Malaysia, promising a high salary and covering her accommodation and travel expenses. Duwi falsified Asih’s name on her passport and instructed her not to use her real name, a tactic commonly used by human traffickers to deceive immigration authorities, according to the Kuala Lumpur-based anti-death penalty group Hayat.

Upon arrival in Malaysia, Asih was directed to travel to Vietnam to collect a suitcase and deliver it to Duwi’s relative in Penang. She was arrested at the Penang airport on June 21, 2011, after authorities discovered 3.87kg of methamphetamine in the bag. A Malaysian court sentenced her to death in 2012 under the Dangerous Drugs Act.

During her imprisonment, Asih survived endometrial cancer, underwent a hysterectomy, and experienced multiple instances of abuse, according to news reports.

Hayat and Jakarta’s Community Legal Aid Institute released a joint statement asserting that Asih’s case represents more than a typical drug charge. “It is a profound narrative of deception, exploitation, and systemic vulnerability,” they said, emphasizing how women are manipulated into illicit operations without fully understanding the circumstances.

The groups stated that Asih and women in similar situations are victims of a flawed system and called her repatriation a critical legal and humanitarian precedent. At least eight Indonesian women remain imprisoned in Malaysia after having their death sentences commuted.

Asih’s release coincides with Malaysia’s ongoing review of its legal system following the 2023 abolition of the mandatory death penalty, which now allows judges discretion in 11 offenses and resentencing for those already on death row. The number of people on death row for drug offenses fell from 705 in 2024 to 40 in 2025, according to Hayat. An execution moratorium has been in place since 2018, with the last known execution occurring in 2017.