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)