Pardon for Rizana?

By Ananda KANNANGARA

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Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE), Chairman, Kingsley Ranawaka told the Sunday Observer yesterday that the case of Rizana Nasik who is facing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia was taken up for hearing at the Daw Admi High Court last week and according to the Sri Lankan Ambassador Abdul Ageed Mohammed Marleen, the father of the dead child was summoned before the courts. "But, in this case Naif Jiziyan Khalal Al-Otaibi had informed the court through his lawyers that he would consider a pardon for Rizana after negotiating the matter with other members of the family," he said.

According to the law in Saudi Arabia, Rizana could be released if the dead child's parents give a pardon for the victim.

The 19-year old Sri Lankan Rizana Nasik of Mutur was sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for committing the murder of her employer's four-month old baby in February 2005.