Government deplores maid's execution<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government expressed concern yesterday over
\nwhat it called secrecy surrounding the criminal trial of an
\nIndonesian maid in Saudi Arabia, which led to her execution.<\/p>\n
State Minister of Women's Roles Mien Sugandhi said the Saudi
\nArabian government could have discussed the case with Indonesian
\nemissaries to allow the domestic servant to defend herself.<\/p>\n
Soleha Anam (not Sulaita as earlier reported), 30, was
\nbeheaded by sword in Mecca last week after being convicted for
\nkilling her employer in 1994.<\/p>\n
\"Whoever Soleha was, she was one of God's creatures who had
\nthe right to defend herself and the right to live. Why was she
\nexecuted when she didn't even have a chance to defend herself?\"
\nMien was quoted by Antara as saying.<\/p>\n
She called on the Saudi government to reduce the punishment
\nhanded to other Indonesian workers should they break the law,
\ngiven that they outnumber other expatriates who work there.<\/p>\n
\"Even though Saudi Arabia applies a strict law, we can talk
\nabout religious manners. Our religion recognizes deliberation,
\ndoesn't it?\"<\/p>\n
About 87 percent of Indonesia's 200 million population are
\nMoslem, making it the largest Moslem country on earth.<\/p>\n
Mien said the Saudi Arabian government could have sought a
\ncompromise with Indonesian consulates about Soleha's fate, even
\nthough she was considered an illegal worker.<\/p>\n
\"The execution of an Indonesian woman should be cause for deep
\nconcern in the nation, because 92 percent of Indonesian workers
\nabroad are women,\" Mien said.<\/p>\n
She insisted that Soleha of Malang, East Java, entered the
\noil-rich country as a legal worker.<\/p>\n
Earlier yesterday, the Ministry of Manpower's Director General
\nof Manpower Placement and Development Jacky Iskandarsyah told
\nMien that Soleha went to Saudi Arabia in 1993 legally through an
\nIndonesian labor supply agency, PT Andromeda Graha.<\/p>\n
Jacky said Soleha fled from her employer a few months later
\nand illegally moved to another employer, a widow, in Mecca with
\nthe help of a driver.<\/p>\n
He said the murder occurred in 1994 when Soleha tried to help
\nher employer catch one of her relatives who was about to commit a
\ncrime.<\/p>\n
\"Soleha tried to beat the thief with a traditional pipe
\nshisha, but she mistakenly hit her employer to death,\" Jacky said
\nin his report.<\/p>\n
He said PT Andromeda had reported the case to the Indonesian
\nEmbassy in Riyadh and the Indonesian consulate general in Jeddah.<\/p>\n
Jacky said he had asked the Indonesian Embassy last April to
\nrequest milder punishment for Soleha, but to no avail.<\/p>\n
Human rights activists have criticized the government for
\nfailing to protect an Indonesian citizen who was prosecuted and
\neventually punished abroad. They said the Indonesian Embassy had
\nnot been persistent in defending Soleha's rights as a migrant
\nworker. (amd)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/government-deplores-maids-execution-1447893297",
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