Activists deplore poor support given to maid<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Human rights activists have expressed concern
\nover the reported poor support given by the Indonesian Embassy in
\nSaudi Arabia to Sulaita Anam Kafiran, who was executed in Mecca
\non Tuesday.<\/p>\n
An activist from Solidaritas Perempuan (Women's Solidarity),
\nTati Krisnawaty, said yesterday that the apparent silence on the
\npart of the government when asked about what representation it
\nmade on Sulaita's behalf had raised doubts about how strenuously
\nthe embassy defended her rights.<\/p>\n
Sulaita, who was a migrant worker, was beheaded by sword after
\nbeing convicted in 1993 of murdering a Saudi woman with an ax.<\/p>\n
News of the woman's plight only became available here on
\nWednesday, after her execution, when an international news agency
\ncarried a report from two Saudi newspapers. They said the woman
\nthat Sulaita allegedly murdered was her employer,<\/p>\n
Indonesian Embassy officials in Riyadh confirmed the execution
\non Wednesday, but were unable to provide detailed information
\nabout Sulaita, the case, or the representation made on her
\nbehalf.<\/p>\n
Tati, who learned about the case Thursday, said the lack of
\nrights protection for migrant workers in Saudi Arabia would have
\nleft Sulaita very vulnerable.<\/p>\n
She would not have had a lawyer, and she would not have known
\nanything about the Saudi legal system, Tati said.<\/p>\n
She also said that the Indonesian Embassy had not been
\npersistent enough in defending Sulaita's rights as a migrant
\nworker.<\/p>\n
Sulaita's death revealed how fragile migrant workers' rights
\nwere, Tati said.<\/p>\n
A member of the National Commission on Human Rights, Asmara
\nNababan, said yesterday that he doubted whether the Indonesian
\nEmbassy had offered professional legal advice to Sulaita for her
\ntrial.<\/p>\n
\"If they didn't, Sulaita's rights as a defendant were not
\nprotected at all,\" Nababan told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Nababan called on the Indonesian government to support migrant
\nworkers' rights through a bilateral agreement with those
\ncountries who hire Indonesian workers.<\/p>\n
He said embassies should be provided with enough staff to look
\nafter Indonesian citizens abroad.<\/p>\n
An official of the Association of Labor Export Companies
\n(APJATI) said yesterday that the Indonesian Embassy had made
\nrepeated appeals on Sulaita's behalf to the Saudi government,
\nasking for a milder punishment, Antara reported.<\/p>\n
The official, Farid Nahdi, who heads APJATI's Saudi Arabia
\ndivision, said that Sulaita went to Saudi Arabia legally through
\nan Indonesian migrant worker agency, PT Andromeda Graha, the news
\nagency said.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Andromeda was not available for comment on
\nthe case yesterday.<\/p>\n
Sutikno, a spokesperson at the Ministry of Manpower's
\nDirectorate General of Manpower Placement and Development, said
\nyesterday that the ministry had made unsuccessful attempts to
\nlessen Sulaita's punishment. (09\/05)<\/p>",
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