Govt Gathers Funds to Save Indonesian Maid from Beheading

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it has managed to collect Rp 2.3 billion ($261,000) in donations to help spare an Indonesian maid from beheading in Saudi Arabia.

According to the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh, Darsem binti Dawud from Subang, West Java, was found guilty by a Riyadh court in May 2009 for murdering her Yemeni employer. The judge sentenced her to death by beheading, despite Darsem's plea that the murder was an act of self defense because her employer tried to rape her.

In January the victim's family forgave Darsem and agreed to spare her if she came up with Rp 4.3 billion in compensation — or what is known in Arabic as “diyat." The Indonesian government has been given six months to collect the sum, but is allowed to request a time extension.

“So far we have gathered Rp 2.3 billion in donations from generous people,” the ministry's spokesman Kusuma Habir was quoted as saying by news portal Detik.com.

Darsem is not the first Indonesian worker to face the death sentence. In January 2008, Yanti Sukardi was beheaded for killing her employer.

The Saudi Arabia government said Yanti suffocated her employer with a pillow and then stole her jewelry.

Beheading in Saudi Arabia is usually by scimitar in a public square. In 2009, 65 men and two women were executed, although the rate fell markedly in 2010 with 26 men being beheaded.

(x Jak Globe)

Rp 700 Million Still Needed to Buy Back Life of Condemned Maid in Saudi Arabia


At least Rp 700 million ($80,000) is still needed to save a female Indonesian worker in Saudi Arabia from being executed, a senior official said on Sunday.

Manpower Minister Muhaimin Iskandar said the government has so far raised about Rp 4 billion from various ministries to pay the financial compensation for Darsem binti Dawud Tawar, who was convicted in May 2009 by a Saudi court for murdering her employer.

“We have been working for Darsem and hopefully she will return to Indonesia soon,” he told reporters. “In the next couple of months, we will be struggling to get amnesty for her.”

Muhaimin said his office was continuing to coordinate its efforts to save Darsem with the National Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNPPTKI) and the Migrant Workers Placement Agency (PJTKI) in Saudi Arabia.

Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said on Friday that, in addition to state agencies, a number of donors in Saudi Arabia also pledged to help.

“We don’t need to worry since there are various sources [raising money]. We heard there have been contributions from donors in Saudi Arabia and that is good — progress is being made,” he said.

According to the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh, Darsem, who comes from Subang in West Java, was convicted by a Riyadh court in May 2009 for murdering her Yemeni employer. The judge sentenced her to death by beheading, despite Darsem’s plea that she had killed her employer in self-defense because he had been attempting to rape her.

In January the victim’s family forgave Darsem and agreed to spare her, if she came up with Rp 4.3 billion in compensation — what is known in Arabic as diyat , or blood money.

The Indonesian government has been given six months to collect the sum, but is allowed to seek an extension.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Kusuma Habir said the legal proceedings had already entered the appeals stage, which meant there was a possibility the court would cancel or reduce the payoff.