August 2
PHILIPPINES/SAUDI ARABIA: Family pleads Arroyo to help save OFW in death row Relatives of a convicted overseas Filipino worker from Sibuco, Zamboanga del Norte, have pleaded President Gloria Arroyo to make urgent legal representation with the Judicial Authority of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and to His Royal Highness, the King of Saudi Arabia to save the life of their daughter. In a letter dated July 30, 2005, the Sakilan family, through the assistance of Councilor Asbi Edding, also asked Arroyo to grant the family the necessary assistance to have the opportunity to see their daughter Marjana Andal Sakilan the soonest possible time. Edding said Marjana, who has been working in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, will face imminent execution of final judgment of death sentence for murder, soon. Marjana, together with a certain Idan Tejano, has been sentenced to death for the alleged murder of a female Egyptian employer of co-accused Tejano on May 2001. The death sentence imposed by the Lower Court of Saudi Arabia was recently affirmed by the Saudi Arabia High Royal Court. The OFW, according to Edding, has been working in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia since 1999 and has not returned to her hometown in Cawit-cawit, Sibuco, Zamboanga del Norte, since then. Quoting Marjana's relatives, Edding said the victim was the wife of an Arabian citizen. However, Marjana was not an employee of the victim but was merely working in the same building as Tejano at the time of the commission of the crime. "We really don't know more about the facts of the case and the circumstances surrounding its commission. We learned the co-accused (Tejano) was also convicted with death penalty," the Sakilans said in the letter to the president. The letter was signed by Haridja Andal Sakilan, Maijana's mother; Al-Hakim Andal Maijana's uncle, Nur-aina Sakilan, sister, and Edding Last May 18, Edding requested the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) regional office, here, to help verify on the whereabouts as well as status of Marjana in Saudi Arabia. Marjana, accordingly, left for Jeddah in 1999 for the second time, using the passport of her friend Nor-Aisa Usop Mabanding of Sirawn, Toril, Davao City. Years before, Marjana was issued a passport with Serial No. F-148240 that enabled her to leave for Jeddah for job replacement. However, after the passport's expiration, Marjana returned to Jeddah through a borrowed passport. Maijana's relatives knew about her detention and case in Jeddah through her friend, Edding added. (source: Sun Star)
