Indonesia Protests Saudi's Beheading Of Its Citizen But Will Execute Nigerian, Others

Jakarta summoned the Saudi Arabian ambassador Wednesday to protest the
beheading of an Indonesian domestic worker and complain that her
family and consular staff were not given prior notice of the
execution.
Saudi authorities said Siti Zainab was executed Tuesday in the Muslim
holy city of Medina after being convicted of stabbing and beating
Saudi woman Noura al-Morobei to death in 1999.
Human rights groups have used Zainab's beheading to urge Indonesia to
abandon its support for the death penalty, as Jakarta presses ahead
with plans to execute several foreigners on death row for drug crimes.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo and three of his predecessors had
previously written to the Saudi king asking for the victim's family to
forgive Zainab.
But the sentence was carried out despite Jakarta claiming Zainab's
family and consular officials were not given adequate notice before
her execution.
"From the beginning, the government has struggled to provide her with
assistance and has asked the family (of the victim) for forgiveness,"
Indonesia's foreign ministry said in a statement received late Tuesday
by AFP.
"The Indonesian government filed a protest against the Saudi Arabian
government for not giving prior notification to Indonesian
representatives or to the family over the execution date."
The Saudi interior ministry said Zainab's execution was delayed until
the victim's children were old enough to decide whether the punishment
should proceed.
Riyadh's ambassador to Indonesia Mustafa Ibrahim Al-Mubarak said he
was "surprised" to be summoned by the foreign ministry but would
follow up on Jakarta's concerns.
"The problem is not about the court and the execution, it is about the
date of the execution," he told reporters.
"I have to check what went wrong."
Migrant Care, an NGO advocating for the rights of Indonesian workers
abroad, condemned the execution and claimed Zainab was acting in self
defence against an abusive employer.
The group urged Indonesia to abandon the death penalty "as a first
step to push other countries to not impose the death penalty on
migrant workers".
Jakarta, however, remains determined to execute several drug
traffickers -- including citizens from Australia, France, Nigeria,
Ghana, Brazil and the Philippines -- as soon as possible.
Indonesia executed six drug offenders in January, including five
foreigners, prompting a furious Brazil and the Netherlands -- whose
citizens were among those put to death -- to recall their ambassadors.
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said Indonesia would proceed with the
executions as planned, despite protests over Zainab's case.
"Our commitment is to protect our citizens, that is our priority," she
told reporters late Tuesday.
"But there's an issue of law enforcement which we have to enforce domestically."
Amnesty International said the sentence against Zainab was carried out
despite suspicions she was mentally ill, adding to what the
London-based watchdog calls a "macabre spike" in Saudi executions this
year.
--Vanguard