http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=122321&d=8&m=5&y=2009&pix=kingdom.jpg&category=Kingdom
Friday 8 May 2009 (13 Jumada al-Ula 1430)
14 Indonesians on death row seek clemency
Ghazanfar Ali Khan | Arab News
RIYADH: The Indonesian government has stepped up efforts to save the
lives of 14 of its citizens who are on death row in Saudi Arabia for being
convicted of involvement in a range of criminal cases, including murder.
"Our missions in Riyadh and Jeddah will provide legal assistance to these
people and help them get a royal pardon or their sentences commuted," said an
Indonesian diplomat while reacting to a recent report on the cases. He refused
to divulge more details about the cases.
The report said the Indonesian government had managed to persuade the
Saudi side to delay executions, citing appeals for clemency to some of the
victims' families.
"We are intensifying our personal approach to family members of the
victims," said the diplomat. The Indonesian side has already requested the
Saudi government to grant royal clemency in some individual cases, but the host
government has not responded so far, said another report obtained by Arab News
yesterday.
The report added that the Kingdom deported 24,020 Indonesians without
valid work permits in 2008. Most of them were employed as housemaids.
Between January and September last year, around 18,000 Indonesians
working illegally in the Kingdom were deported. These workers lacked the
necessary legal documents and had violated the terms of their visas, according
to the Indonesian Embassy.
Most of them entered the Kingdom using Umrah visas but stayed to work,
while others had work visas that had expired. The report said more than 20,000
Indonesian workers are deported from Saudi Arabia each year.
Some of 14 workers who are seeking pardon from the Saudi government were
found guilty many years ago. Siti Zainab was sentenced to death several years
ago for killing her employer. The Indonesian Embassy has repeatedly approached
her victim's family to secure a pardon for her. "The Indonesian president has
written to the Saudi government twice about her case," said the report.
The report claimed that some of these workers committed murders while
acting in self-defense.
Others have been handed death sentences for killing compatriots.
Last year, the Indonesian Embassy succeeded in postponing the execution
of six workers.
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