Gov’t: Dozens of Indonesian migrant workers face execution in Saudi Arabia

At least 22 Indonesian migrant workers could be facing execution for crimes they committed in Saudi Arabia, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry said, saying it designated Rp 4.6 billion ($534,000) of its budget to help one of the workers.

Indonesian Law and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar told the Antara news agency that 22 out of 316 Indonesians in Saudi Arabia are involved in legal cases that could lead to execution by beheading, as happened to house maid Ruyati binti Satubi last Saturday.


The information was gathered after the Indonesian law and human rights minister met with relevant ministers in Saudi Arabia in order to try to prevent migrant workers from being executed there. Following the meeting, the Saudi government agreed to possibly free troubled migrant workers who had not already been sentenced to death and could still receive a pardon from the victims' relatives.

In addition, Indonesia's House of Representatives' Commission approved the Rp 4.6 billion budget to assist migrant worker Darsem binti Dawud Tawar who was convicted of murdering her employer in May 2009. The victim's family has pardoned her, but the situation continues to press because she would need to pay financial compensation by July 7 in order to avoid execution, according to Saudi Arabian law.

Ruyati, 54, was beheaded last Saturday after confessing to the murder of the wife of her employer. The family of Ruyati said it planned to sue the Indonesian government for its lack of legal assistance, but Coordinating Public Welfare Minister Agung Laksono said the government lacked options since Ruyati had confessed to the murder.

Meanwhile, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expressed his condolences over the death of the migrant worker. "The President is concerned and is truly saddened by what happened to Ruyati," presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said Sunday. "The President instructed ministries involved to provide legal assistance to migrant workers that are facing legal cases."

Source by : bnonews.com.