Kartini's claim of rape could win her reprieve from death row

JAKARTA (JP): Hopes are high that Indonesian maid Kartini bin Karim will avoid the death penalty in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for adultery as she has testified that she was raped, director general for labor placement Din Syamsuddin said on Friday.

Din, fresh from a trip to the UAE to visit Kartini, said the migrant worker would be accompanied by local lawyers when giving her testimony before the local high court hearing her appeal on Monday.

"In my meeting with Kartini in Fujairah prison on Tuesday, she denied that she had an affair with her Indian colleague, Muhammad Sulaiman Frangoan, as has been accused by local prosecutors. She insisted that she had been raped," he told The Jakarta Post.

During his visit to Fujairah, Din was accompanied by Tati Krisnawaty, who chairs the NGO Women's Solidarity, and a staffer at the Indonesian Embassy in UAE.

In its verdict on Feb. 28, the district court in Fujairah, some 300 kilometers from the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, sentenced the 35-year-old maid to death by stoning for having a baby out of wedlock.

Din said Kartini was facing execution after she admitted four times to the local Muslim court that she had given birth to the Indian worker's baby after a love affair with him.

"She gave a false admission and apparently accepted her death sentence because she was frustrated by the presence of her baby and her bad relationship with her husband at home," he said.

Kartini from Karawang, West Java, has been working in the UAE since 1998.

According to UAE law, adultery for women is punishable by death by stoning.

Din said Kartini's baby was being taken care of by a local police officer's family.

Frangoan escaped UAE after the case was unveiled.

Din, also secretary general of the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI), said his recent UAE visit was part of Indonesia's intensive lobbying attempts to save Kartini from the death sentence.

"The Ministry of Manpower in cooperation with the Indonesian Embassy in UAE has recruited a local lawyers firm in Fujairah to provide legal protection for Kartini," he said.

The appeal has been postponed to give time for prosecutors and Kartini's lawyers to further study the case.

Din said he was optimistic that Kartini would not be given a death sentence. "Although she has been proven guilty, she will be punished with a light sentence, or even freed from the charges," he added.

He said he had requested that the Muslim court review the death sentence, but because of Kartini's admission, it was to no avail.

But Din also brought home bad news, saying two more Indonesian workers were facing death sentences in Dubai and Madinah, Saudi Arabia, on murder charges.

He said Sri Ningsih, an Indonesian worker from Central Java, might be stoned to death for allegedly killing her Sri Lankan fellow worker, while Siti Zainab from Bangkalan, Madura, was charged with murdering her employer's wife.

"Sri Ningsih's trial is underway while Zainab's will begin after the pilgrimage season is over," he said.

Meanwhile, foreign minister Alwi Shihab asserted that despite Kartini's death sentence, the government would not seek clemency from the UAE government.

"I'm more than optimistic Kartini will not be stoned to death ... The government has an obligation to protect all Indonesians but in the case of Kartini, we will not seek clemency," he said moments before his departure to Saudi Arabia for the haj pilgrimage.

He said Kartini should not be seen as a heroine if she was freed from the death sentence.

"We should not treat her like a Thomas Cup champion. The most important thing is that the death sentence should be lifted from her," he said.

After completing his pilgrimage, Shihab is slated to meet with UAE officials to seek a lighter sentence for Kartini. (rms/dja)