Govt 'tried to save' Warni's life

Govt 'tried to save' Warni's life

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Manpower Bomer Pasaribu said the
government did all it could to save the life of Indonesian maid
Warni, who was beheaded in Saudi Arabia on Monday.

He said that up to the last minute, the ministry's lawyers
representing the maid were unable to obtain a clemency from the
victim's family which could have reverted the sentence.

Bomer said that according to local Syariah law, forgiveness
from the closest family member of the victim was the only thing
which could have freed Warni.

"We tried to ask for forgiveness, but none of the victim's
family wanted to accept our apology and save the maid from being
executed. The case was one of our main priorities," Bomer told
The Jakarta Post on Monday.

"The Indonesian government regrets this because whatever
mistakes she made, she was an Indonesian citizen and we should
have protected her from such a penalty," he remarked.

Saudi authorities beheaded the Indonesian women in the town of
Al-Ihsa in eastern Saudi Arabia. She was charged with killing the
Saudi woman she was working for.

A Saudi Ministry of the Interior statement said the maid had
beaten the woman on the head with an iron pipe.

DPA reported that the latest execution brings to 60 the number
of people beheaded this year in Saudi Arabia. Last year, 99
people were executed in the kingdom.(dja)