Following Execution, Indonesia Bans Sending Workers to Saudi
BANNED: In a picture taken on November 25, 2010 Indonesian workers, who have been lining up in large numbers to work as maids in Saudi Arabia, attend a class at a training center in Jakarta. (Bay Ismoyo/AFP/Getty Images) Indonesia will ban its citizens from working as domestic servants in Saudi Arabia after the execution of a maid convicted of murder.
The ban will begin from Aug. 1 and last until Saudi Arabia agrees to enact laws to protect migrant workers, the countrys state news agency Antara reported.
It follows the beheading on Saturday of Indonesian maid Ruyati binti Sapubi, 54, who was sentenced to death for murdering her Saudi employer with a meat cleaver after he refused to allow her to return home.
The Indonesian government has decided to impose a moratorium on sending workers to Saudi Arabia, Labor Minister Muhaimin Iskandar was quoted as saying by Antara.
There are 1.2 million Indonesians working in Saudi Arabia and 70 percent work as domestic servants.
Binti Sapubi had become a cause clbre in Indonesia following her conviction. Officials in Jakarta issued a formal complaint to Saudi Arabia over not being informed ahead of time of the execution date.
In response, Saudi Ambassador Abdurrahman bin Mohammed Al-Khayyat was reported to have issued a formal apology to Indonesia's Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa.
"The ambassador apologized and regretted the situation and said that such a thing wouldn't happen again in future," Foreign Ministry spokesman Michael Tene said, according to AFP.
The ban on sending migrant workers to Saudi Arabia will not be lifted until the two countries sign a memorandum of understanding to protect Indonesian workers rights.
Some 23 Indonesians are on death row in Saudi Arabia. One of them is a maid named Darse! m, who w as recently sentenced to death for the 2007 killing of her Yemeni employer, who she says tried to rape her.
However, she could be spared the penalty if her family pays blood money, or diyat of 2 million riyals (US$530,000).
The Indonesian government has agreed to pay the compensation and the funds will be transferred before the July deadline.
A full week before the death of Ruyati binti Sapubi, Amnesty International expressed concern over the increasing use of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia.
The human rights group reports that 27 people were executed in the first six months of this year, the same as the total number in 2010. In May alone, some 17 people were put to death.
The Saudi Arabian authorities must halt this disturbing pattern, which puts the country at odds with the worldwide trend against the death penalty, said Philip Luther, Amnestys deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa, in a statement.
Amnesty International is aware of over 100 prisoners, many of whom are foreign nationals, currently on death row. The Saudi authorities must immediately stop executions and commute all death sentences, with a view to abolishing the death penalty completely, said Luther.
The ban will begin from Aug. 1 and last until Saudi Arabia agrees to enact laws to protect migrant workers, the countrys state news agency Antara reported.
It follows the beheading on Saturday of Indonesian maid Ruyati binti Sapubi, 54, who was sentenced to death for murdering her Saudi employer with a meat cleaver after he refused to allow her to return home.
The Indonesian government has decided to impose a moratorium on sending workers to Saudi Arabia, Labor Minister Muhaimin Iskandar was quoted as saying by Antara.
There are 1.2 million Indonesians working in Saudi Arabia and 70 percent work as domestic servants.
Binti Sapubi had become a cause clbre in Indonesia following her conviction. Officials in Jakarta issued a formal complaint to Saudi Arabia over not being informed ahead of time of the execution date.
In response, Saudi Ambassador Abdurrahman bin Mohammed Al-Khayyat was reported to have issued a formal apology to Indonesia's Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa.
"The ambassador apologized and regretted the situation and said that such a thing wouldn't happen again in future," Foreign Ministry spokesman Michael Tene said, according to AFP.
The ban on sending migrant workers to Saudi Arabia will not be lifted until the two countries sign a memorandum of understanding to protect Indonesian workers rights.
Some 23 Indonesians are on death row in Saudi Arabia. One of them is a maid named Darse! m, who w as recently sentenced to death for the 2007 killing of her Yemeni employer, who she says tried to rape her.
However, she could be spared the penalty if her family pays blood money, or diyat of 2 million riyals (US$530,000).
The Indonesian government has agreed to pay the compensation and the funds will be transferred before the July deadline.
A full week before the death of Ruyati binti Sapubi, Amnesty International expressed concern over the increasing use of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia.
The human rights group reports that 27 people were executed in the first six months of this year, the same as the total number in 2010. In May alone, some 17 people were put to death.
The Saudi Arabian authorities must halt this disturbing pattern, which puts the country at odds with the worldwide trend against the death penalty, said Philip Luther, Amnestys deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa, in a statement.
Amnesty International is aware of over 100 prisoners, many of whom are foreign nationals, currently on death row. The Saudi authorities must immediately stop executions and commute all death sentences, with a view to abolishing the death penalty completely, said Luther.
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