Oregon veterinarian released from foreign prison on Christmas Eve

After being jailed for two months in Timor-Leste without charges, Stacey Addison, DVM, is free.

But the Portland, Oregon, veterinarian still needs to recover her passport to leave the country, according to The Oregonian. A judge seized it after police arrested Addison while she was sharing a cab with a stranger who possessed methamphetamine. Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, is an island nation in Southeast Asia; Addison was visiting Timor-Leste during a year-plus-long trip around the world.

AddisonAfter the announcement of Addison's release was made public, Addison spoke on the phone with her mother, Bernadette Kero. Kero has campaigned for her daughter's freedom through the Facebook page Help Stacey and contact with government officials.

"My first reaction was to cry,” Kero told KGW News. “Yeah, I couldn't believe it, I just was sobbing."

Addison will stay in the guesthouse of Jose Ramos-Horta, a former president of Timor-Leste and Nobel Prize laureate who has been assisting Addison and Kero.

Kero posted a message on Facebook to announce the release:

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Help Stacey

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Kero cautioned that her daughter's ordeal is not over until she receives her passport. Here's what she wrote on Facebook:

“At this time her passport has not yet been returned so we will CONTINUE OUR EFFORTS OF SUPPORT until she has her passport in hand and is on her way home! We are so touched by the tremendous outpouring of support from people from all over the world!”

Supporters have created a petition to advocate for Addison's cause.