RIYADH: The much-publicized case of Satinah binti Jumadi Ahmad, 41, an Indonesian maid jailed in Saudi Arabia since 2009 for killing her employer’s wife and stealing money, could be nearing an end soon.
“Indonesian Embassy officials will visit Buraidah next week to check the status of the case,” said Dede Achmad Rifai, an embassy official, here Saturday.
The maid is lodged in a jail in Buraidah. The Indonesian government has formally appealed to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman to pardon her after it paid SR7 million in blood money to the victim’s family. “The employer’s family has already pardoned the maid, thus settling the private claims,” said Rifai.
He, however, said that the public rights issue need to be settled before Satinah is finally set free.
The maid has been awaiting her death sentence since 2011 when she was found guilty of killing her employer’s 70-year-old wife and stealing SR37,970 in 2007.
The Indonesian government has fought a long battle to save the maid and had managed to get the execution delayed several times since her conviction.
Rifai said: “There are 18 workers, mainly housemaids, who have been awarded death penalty by various courts.” This includes nine female workers in the Western Province alone for their alleged involvement in various crimes.
The embassy has been trying to seek clemency in most of the cases.
In one case, according to a report published by Jakarta Post, an Indonesian daily newspaper, five Indonesian migrant workers sentenced to death in a murder case have been released by the court after receiving forgiveness from the victim’s family.
The five workers have been identified as Saiful Mubarak, Samani Muhammad, Muhammad Mursyidi, Ahmad Zizi Hartati and Abdul Aziz Supiyani. Charges against these five people were for killing a Saudi national, Zubair bin Hafiz Ghul Muhammad, in 2006.
The Indonesian diplomatic missions in Riyadh and Jeddah are still trying to resolve several cases ranging from petty crimes to death penalty matters.
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