Indonesian government gathers donations to save migrant worker from beheading in Saudi Arabia

Indonesian government gathers donations to save migrant worker from beheading in Saudi Arabia

2011-03-04 03:21:03 GMT+7 (ICT)

JAKARTA (BNO NEWS) -- Indonesia's Foreign Ministry has only gathered half of the donations needed to save an Indonesian maid sentenced to death by beheading in Saudi Arabia, the Jakarta Globe reported.



"So far we've managed to collect Rp 2.3 billion [$262,000] from various donors," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Kusuma Habir said on Wednesday.



Darsem binti Dawud Tawar, from Subang in West Java, was convicted by a Riyadh court in May 2009 for murdering her Yemeni employer. She was sentenced to death by beheading, despite Darsem's claim that she acted in self-defense when her employer tried to rape her.



In January, the victim's family agreed to spare her if she came up with Rp 4.3 billion in compensation. The Indonesian government was given six months to collect the sum, but it is allowed to seek an extension. Even if the sum is paid, however, Darsem would still be required to serve a prison term.

Umi Farida, from the National Network for Domestic Workers Advocacy, questioned government efforts to help Darsem by soliciting donations.



"Helping her is an obligation. Why would the government need to gather donations from the public when they can allocate funding from the state budget to help her?," she said. 



In January 2008, another Indondesia migrant worker was beheaded for killing her employer. The Saudi government said Yanti Sukardi suffocated her employer with a pillow and then stolen her jewelry. 
In 2009, 65 men and two women were executed in Saudi Arabia, while the rate fell in 2010 with 26 men being beheaded.


-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-03-04