Indonesian maid's pardon raises fresh hope for Rizana

by M.D Rasooldeen

Following the pardon given to an Indonesian housemaid who was sentenced to death on murder charges, the Sri Lankan government and social service organisations yesterday renewed their appeal for clemency for Rizana Nafeek, who is currently awaiting execution in the Kingdom.

An Indonesian maid Darsem binti Dawud Tawar, who was convicted of murdering her employer, returned to Jakarta on Wednesday following a pardon given by the victim's kin.

The maid from Subang, West Java, was convicted in May 2009 and sentenced to death despite her plea that she killed the victim in self-defence during attempted rape. The Indonesian government paid $534,884 in blood money to secure the pardon.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa is deeply concerned about Nafeek's case," UPFA MP A.H.M. Azwer told Arab News on Friday from Colombo.

Nafeek was 17 when a recruitment agency in Sri Lanka showed that the was old enough to work in Saudi Arabia. Nafeek arrived in the Kingdom to work as a maid, but she was also assigned nanny duties without any formal training in post-natal care.

Nafeek said that the four-month-old infant choked during bottle feeding, but the family said she murdered the baby. The Court found Nafeek guilty and sentenced her to death based on a Hadd ruling a Hadd ruling is one specifically prescribed in the Qur'an: decapitation if the next of kin of the victim does not forgive the crime and accept blood money.

The State cannot force a pardon, as it is a private right and therefore, the family must pardon Nafeek or come to a blood-money settlement through reconciliation efforts.

"It is with great sense of gladness that I read in the Arab News of the pardoning of Darsem binti Dawud Tawar," said Sri Lankan Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ahmed A. Jawad. "This gracious act symbolises the generous nature of the Saudi people. I am optimistic that Rizana Nafeek too would similarly be given her freedom by the infant's parents."

Sri Lankan officials said that Nafeek comes from an impoverished family in Mutur. Her father supports his family by harvesting wood from the jungle.