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)