SAUDI ARABIA: Open letter to halt execution of domestic worker

An urgent appeal from the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and mails from friends in Sri Lanka alert us to the case of Rizana Nafeek whose appeal on her death sentence was rejected; the death by beheading decision handed down on June 16, 2007 is thereby confirmed.

Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA) joins the AHRC and the human rights organizations and advocates who supported the appeal made in 2007 when Rizana was first charged with infanticide and sentenced to death, in urging everyone to appeal to His Royal Highness, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, for clemency.

To this end, they seek your endorsement of an open letter to Saudi Arabia, on behalf of Rizana. Please find attached the open letter we drafted for both the King of Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom's Interior Minister.

The details of the case that we have been able to glean from the appeals are as follows.

•  Rizana Nafeek was born on February 4, 1988 and comes from a war-torn, impoverished village. Here, many families, including those of the Muslim community, try to send their under-aged children for employment outside the country, as breadwinners. Some employment agencies exploit this situation and engage in obtaining passports by altering the dates of birth of these children to make it appear that they are older than they really are. In the case of Rizana Nafeek, the altered date, which is to be found in her passport now, is February 2, 1982. It was on the basis of this altered date that the employment agency fixed her employment in Saudi Arabia and she went there in May 2005.
• She went to work at the house of Mr. Naif Jiziyan Khalaf Al Otaibi whose wife had a new-born baby boy. A short time after she started working for this family she was assigned to bottle feed the infant who was by then four months old. Rizana Nafeek had no experience of any sort in caring for such a young infant. She was left alone when bottle feeding the child. While she was feeding the child, the boy started choking, as so often happens to babies and Rizana Nafeek panicked and while shouting for help tried to sooth the child by feeling the chest, neck and face, doing whatever she could to help him. At her shouting the mother arrived but by that time the baby was either unconscious or dead. Unfortunately, misunderstanding the situation, the family members handed her over to the police, accusing her of strangling the baby. At the police station also, she was very harshly handled and did not have the help of a translator or anyone else to whom she could explain what had happened. She was made to sign a confession and later charges were filed in court of murder by strangulation.
• On her first appearance in court she was sternly warned by the police to repeat her confession, which she did. However, later she was able to talk to an interpreter who was sent by the Sri Lankan embassy and she explained in her own language the circumstances of what had happened as stated above. This version was also stated in court thereafter.
• According to reports, the judges who heard the case requested the father of the child to use his prerogative to pardon the young girl. However, the father refused to grant such pardon. On that basis the court sentenced her to death by beheading. This sentence was made on June 16, 2007.
• Human rights organizations and advocates appealed the decision. A supreme body in Saudi referred the case back to the original court for reinvestigation. The court called for the person who took down her alleged confession. It was found that he was not a competent interpreter that carried out the translation and that it was someone who was, in fact, a sheep herder. The court issued summons for the person to be brought to the court for examination. It was then found that the person concerned was no longer in the country. Thereafter, the case was postponed for several years as the witness could not be located.
• The Sri Lankan Embassy in Saudi Arabia has made statements from time to time stating that the embassy was closely following the case and was providing support to the young girl who was in prison. However, later it was almost impossible to get anyone to answer questions about the case from the Sri Lankan Embassy. When the Embassy was contacted by an international press agency on 25 October, a spokesman stated that the case was still pending for consideration of pardon by the family.

However, on the same day the Arab News announced that the court in Dawi Dami has confirmed the death sentence. The report by Arab News did not give any further details.

According to the appeals that have been sent out, there is very short time to do anything to save Rizana and few options left as fighting a legal battle is over. The Saudi lawyer who took up her case seems helpless. The Embassy in Riyadh is more interested on the Ariyawathi's case (where a domestic worker was tortured by inserting nails into her body). "At the moment, we have no comment on the verdict of the Supreme Court," a senior diplomat from the Sri Lankan
Embassy in Riyadh reportedly said.

AHRC Executive Director Basil Fernando told Arab News by telephone from Hong Kong Sunday that he would seek the help of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to resolve the case. He also appealed to Naif Jiziyan Khalaf Al-Otaibi, the father of the infant, to consider sparing Nafeek's life on humanitarian grounds.

In Sri Lanka, the Rupavahini and MTV Sirasa televisions channels also reported the outcome of Nafeek's case.

A social worker who visited Nafeek in jail during the weekend told Arab News that the maid was fine and desperate to see her parents and family. "Although the prison authorities are aware of the final verdict, they have not told her, nor have I," the social worker said.

Apparently the only option left is pleading with the King for clemency and this has to be done quickly and in a heart touching manner. It was also made known that prior to the execution the
verdict has to pass through three other levels – Interior Minister, the Shoora Council and the King for approval. Hence, the appeal letter to the Interior Minister and the King.

The case of Rizana is not unique. We who have been in this advocacy for some time have seen and heard all too often the many stories of migrant workers being duped, cheated, abused and even killed in the various stages of the migration cycle, which is why we have sought to lobby for policy changes in governments, and even put to question economic and development strategies that continue to deprive peoples of their rights and push them to attempt a life outside of their own countries. No, the case of Rizana is not unique.

What stands out at this moment, however, is the opportunity to help, to show solidarity, and make governments hear the voice of a migrant worker through our efforts.

The AHRC and MFA hopes to receive your endorsements by 30 October 2010, 9.00 am (Manila Time).

Further information

• Saudi Arabia: Stop execution of domestic worker (Human Rights Watch, 27 October 2010)
• End inhuman sentencing of children campaign