Appeal for death-row maid delayed
Appeal for death-row maid delayed
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian officials said here on Monday that
the appeal trial in the United Arab Emirates of Indonesian maid
Kartini bin Karim has been postponed to allow time for both
prosecutors and defense lawyers to further study the case.
Director for Press Information Service at the Foreign Ministry
Sulaiman Abdulmanan told The Jakarta Post that the trial had been
postponed at least till next Monday.
He said that he had been informed by the Head of the
Information section at the Indonesian Embassy in Abu Dhabi that
the court in Fujairah city, some 300 kilometers from the Emirates
capital, had delayed the trial.
The trial has captured the attention of the nation and various
government and non-governmental groups have set in motion a
national effort to help free the maid.
Minister of Manpower Bomer Pasaribu has sent Din Syamsuddin,
director general for labor placement, to the United Arab Emirates
to seek clemency and provide legal protection for the Indonesian
maid.
"Pak Din, along with Kartini's parents, left for UAE with his
main mission seeking clemency from that country's emir for
Kartini, or a cancellation of the death penalty," he said after
the opening ceremony of a national labor workshop here on Monday.
Both Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab and State
Minister of the Empowerment of Women Khofifah Indar Parawansa
have pledged to plead for Kartini's life, saying they were
optimistic a positive outcome would be achieved.
The 35-year-old Indonesian women, who has been employed in UAE
since February 1998, was sentenced on Feb. 28, 2000, to be stoned
to death for allegedly committing adultery with Indian Muhammad
Sulaiman Frangoan. She gave birth to a baby five month ago.
Bomer said that upon his arrival Din would meet with local
lawyers in Fujairah, where Kartini was tried, to work on her
appeal.
"If this endeavor is not successful and the Fujairah higher
court confirms the district court's decision, Din and his
entourage are slated to meet with the Fujairah emir to seek
clemency for Kartini," he said.
Bomer conceded that thousands of Indonesian workers were still
stranded in Indonesian embassies in several Middle Eastern
countries, including UAE. The workers fled their jobs after
having disputes with their employers.
"Most of them escaped their places of employment after not
being paid, or after being raped or having disputes with their
employers and their families. They cannot return home (to
Indonesia) because they do not have the money," he said.
He noted numerous labor export companies had lost their
licenses for failing to provide legal protection for Indonesian
workers they had sent to the region.
Asked about the government's efforts to forge bilateral
cooperation with Middle Eastern countries to provide legal
protection for Indonesian workers, the minister acknowledged the
government faced difficulties protecting Indonesians employed in
the predominantly Muslim countries because they were treated not
as workers but as members of their employers' families.
"So, Indonesian workers employed as domestic helpers have been
included among their employers' relatives, and if they are
involved in disputes with their employers it is handled by the
countries' foreign affairs ministries and they are not subject to
their labor laws," he said, adding that Indonesia complied with
the laws prevailing in these countries.
Despite protests against supplying Indonesian women to work as
maids in foreign countries, President Abdurrahman Wahid said
recently the practice of sending Indonesian workers overseas
would continue because of the high rate of unemployment at home
and the economic crisis.
Last year,the government earned more than US$1.25 billion from
the labor export sector. (rms)