Saudi legal system 'must be respected'
Saudi legal system 'must be respected'
JAKARTA (JP): Amid public uproar over the recent execution of
an Indonesian maid in Saudi Arabia, scholars have been adamant
that the Saudi legal system, which practices capital punishment,
must be respected.
Ali Yafie of the Indonesian Ulemas Council and former justice-
turned-preacher Bismar Siregar supported the Indonesian
government's stance Saturday not to intervene in Saudi legal
procedures.
"They have their own legal system and we must respect that,"
Ali said during a break at a seminar on capital punishment.
Former justice Bismar concurred with Yafie but argued that the
government could go through diplomatic channels to try and
legally help the Indonesian maid facing a possible execution.
"The government must go all out and help defend Nasiroh and
other migrant workers," Bismar said.
Just weeks after Indonesian maid Soleha Anam Kadiran was
beheaded in Mecca, another maid, Nasiroh Karmudin, may face the
same fate after being charged with murdering her employer.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas said earlier last week
that the government must not interfere with another's rule of law
if it demands the same respect of its own.
But he maintained there was still a chance to free Nasiroh and
promised the government's full effort.
Nasiroh, 24, can be saved from execution if the plaintiff
pardons her or diyat (blood money) is accepted as compensation.
The government, Alatas said, must establish an extradition
agreement with the Saudi government to anticipate a repeat of the
situation in the future.
Similarly, Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman said it was time
to establish an extradition agreement since there had been many
criminal cases involving Indonesian migrant workers.
In Bandung, West Java, Minister of Defense Edi Sudradjat said
Saturday the government had done its best defending Nasiroh by
asking Saudi Arabia to reconsider the death penalty.
But, he said, it would be up to the authorities there to
decide.
Reports say the trial of Nasiroh has concluded and that the
court is still weighing its decision, a process which could take
up to three months.
In Semarang, Central Java, legal expert Muladi said Indonesian
diplomats in Saudi Arabia must be resolute in monitoring the fate
of Indonesian migrant workers so such cases do not happen again.
"The diplomats' role is very important in this case," Muladi
said.
This recent case along with the current repatriation of 10,000
Indonesian workers in Saudi Arabia has prompted stronger calls
for a stop to the exportation of workers.
Chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights Munawir
Sjadzali gave his support to the call to stop sending laborers
abroad.
After giving a speech at the state-run Islamic College in
Kartasura, Sukoharjo, Central Java, Munawir said there were far
too many reports of workers being abused abroad.
Lacking sufficient legal protection, he said, Indonesian
workers were in a weak position and helpless, being exploited by
those who sought profit.
In a related development, Indonesian workers awaiting
repatriation were reportedly involved in a clash with Saudi
police at the Indonesian Consular General's office in Jeddah on
Friday.
Republika daily reported yesterday that three workers were
shot and a local policeman was injured after being struck by a
stone, while two police cars were torched.
Fifty workers were reportedly detained.
Officials at the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh and in Jeddah,
when contacted yesterday, refused to comment on the incident.
Officials at the Ministry of Manpower and the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs' joint-command post here were also unavailable
for comment.
The daily said, quoting a source at the embassy, that the
incident started when hundreds of an estimated 7,000 Indonesians
sheltered at the consular's office provoked Saudi police guarding
them. (10/43/har/aan)