Activists deplore poor support given to maid
Activists deplore poor support given to maid
JAKARTA (JP): Human rights activists have expressed concern
over the reported poor support given by the Indonesian Embassy in
Saudi Arabia to Sulaita Anam Kafiran, who was executed in Mecca
on Tuesday.
An activist from Solidaritas Perempuan (Women's Solidarity),
Tati Krisnawaty, said yesterday that the apparent silence on the
part of the government when asked about what representation it
made on Sulaita's behalf had raised doubts about how strenuously
the embassy defended her rights.
Sulaita, who was a migrant worker, was beheaded by sword after
being convicted in 1993 of murdering a Saudi woman with an ax.
News of the woman's plight only became available here on
Wednesday, after her execution, when an international news agency
carried a report from two Saudi newspapers. They said the woman
that Sulaita allegedly murdered was her employer,
Indonesian Embassy officials in Riyadh confirmed the execution
on Wednesday, but were unable to provide detailed information
about Sulaita, the case, or the representation made on her
behalf.
Tati, who learned about the case Thursday, said the lack of
rights protection for migrant workers in Saudi Arabia would have
left Sulaita very vulnerable.
She would not have had a lawyer, and she would not have known
anything about the Saudi legal system, Tati said.
She also said that the Indonesian Embassy had not been
persistent enough in defending Sulaita's rights as a migrant
worker.
Sulaita's death revealed how fragile migrant workers' rights
were, Tati said.
A member of the National Commission on Human Rights, Asmara
Nababan, said yesterday that he doubted whether the Indonesian
Embassy had offered professional legal advice to Sulaita for her
trial.
"If they didn't, Sulaita's rights as a defendant were not
protected at all," Nababan told The Jakarta Post.
Nababan called on the Indonesian government to support migrant
workers' rights through a bilateral agreement with those
countries who hire Indonesian workers.
He said embassies should be provided with enough staff to look
after Indonesian citizens abroad.
An official of the Association of Labor Export Companies
(APJATI) said yesterday that the Indonesian Embassy had made
repeated appeals on Sulaita's behalf to the Saudi government,
asking for a milder punishment, Antara reported.
The official, Farid Nahdi, who heads APJATI's Saudi Arabia
division, said that Sulaita went to Saudi Arabia legally through
an Indonesian migrant worker agency, PT Andromeda Graha, the news
agency said.
A spokesperson for Andromeda was not available for comment on
the case yesterday.
Sutikno, a spokesperson at the Ministry of Manpower's
Directorate General of Manpower Placement and Development, said
yesterday that the ministry had made unsuccessful attempts to
lessen Sulaita's punishment. (09/05)