Saudi Arabia beheads Indonesian maid despite pleas from Jakarta
Siti Zaenab Duhri. Image via Amnesty International Website. 
An Indonesian maid has been beheaded in Saudi Arabia more than 15 years after she was arrested for stabbing her employer to death.
Amnesty International reported that Siti Zaenab Duhri, who was suspected to be suffering from mental illness, was beheaded Tuesday in what it described as “the latest in the recent macabre spike in Saudi Arabia’s state-sponsored killings.”
Siti’s two children and the Indonesian authorities were not told in advance that the beheading would take place.
“The government filed a protest with the Saudi Arabian government for not informing Indonesian representatives in Saudi Arabia, or the convict’s family, about the timing of the execution,” Indonesia’s foreign ministry said.
The Jakarta Post reports that the Indonesian government last month requested Saudi Arabia’s deputy foreign minister to approach and ask for forgiveness from the victim’s family, as well as offering diyat (blood money) worth Rp 2 billion (US$154,410). The moves failed to prevent the execution.
“Imposing the death penalty and executing someone with a suspected mental illness smacks of a basic lack of humanity,” said Philip Luther, Middle East and North Africa Programme Director at Amnesty International. “This practice has been widely condemned on the world stage and Saudi Arabia should take this opportunity to reconsider its stance on the death penalty.”
Siti, 47, arrived in Saudi Arabia in 1997 before being convicted of murdering her employer in 2001, following her 1999 arrest.
Indonesia imposed a moratorium on sending migrant workers to Saudi Arabia 4 years ago following the beheading of 54-year-old Ruyati Satubi, who was also convicted of killing her employer.
Indonesia has also come under intense international pressure this year over its use of capital punishment, which is unlikely to have helped in its efforts to save Siti. It executed six drugs convicts in January and the death of 10 more drug smugglers by firing squad looks imminent. These include Australian nationals Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, members of the ‘Bali 9’ smuggling ring. Jakarta has ignored pleas for leniency from foreign governments and human rights groups, saying the executions are an essential part of its “war on drugs”.
