- VIVAnews/Siti Ruqoyah
VIVAnews - One more Indonesian worker was beheaded in Saudi Arabia, on June 18, 2011. The decapitation of the woman named Ruyati binti Satubi (54) lengthened the list of Indonesian workers who had to end their life abroad, where they worked.
Ruyati beheading is a great shock for many people. The victim’s family living in Bekasi, West Java, heard of the news only after the execution.
The victim’s family had been struggling hard to find news about Ruyati’s condition, living in a foreign land. “I don’t make rumors. How could I know of the development of my mother, who was tried there,” Ruyati’s daughter Een Nuraeni told VIVAnews last weekend.
Ruyati became a migrant worker the first time in 1999. The grandmother of seven from her three children worked in Medina, Saudi Arabia for five years. After coming back, she again tried her luck in Saudi Arabia and worked for six years.
The last time, she worked in the oil-rich country for a year and four months, before being beheaded. Her motivation of becoming a migrant worker was to send one of her children to nursing school. Then she wanted to look for fortune for her son to buy a streetcar.
When she was about to leave for the third time, her family had asked her, who had divorced, to change her mind. However, not wanting to make her children’s life difficult in the future, she insisted to fly to the Holy Land.
Self Defense
However, her fate turned bitter. Her third departure for seeking fortune ended her life. She was found guilty of murder of her employer Khairiyah Majlad. From the information her family received, since the beginning of her employment, she was tortured a lot.
“Even in the first three months my mother broke her leg. She wasn’t admitted to hospital, but rather treated by her employer’s child who was a doctor,” said Een.
Based on news from a fellow worker, Ruyati’s broken leg was because of the employer’s torture. “I’m sure my mother isn’t guilty. She only defended herself,” said Een.
The same defence was conveyed by Nining Johar, Advocation Director of Migrant Care, an NGO focuses on Indonesian workers’ welfare abroad. According to her, the charge against Ruyati must be scrutinized. Migrant Care was even certain that Ruyati is a victim of violence by her employer.
A similar statement was made by Head of National Agency of Indonesian Workers Placement and Protection (BNP2TKI), Jumhur Hidayat. the governmental institution assumed that Ruyati murdered her employer because she had been tortured a lot.
“In the trial, Ruyati acknowledged she was often tortured physically, so she finally resisted, ended in the death of the female employer,” said Jumhur.
For her offense, the housemaid was executed by decapitation in Saudi Arabia. She was found guilty of ruthlessly killing her employer on 12 January, 2010, by repeated stabbing. In the trial Ruyati confessed the murder.
Government’s Absentmindedness?
The execution over Ruyati irritated a lot of parties. Migrant Care stressed that the government has failed to protect its citizen. The reason is, the NGO had earlier reminded the government about Ruyati’s legal process in March 2011.
In response to the warning, Jumhur denied that the government had been slow in preventing the decapitation penalty. According to him, through RI Consulate General in Jeddah, the government has fought hard against the death penalty, by requesting the Saudi Board of Pardon (lajnatul afwu) to release Ruyati.
However, the victim’s family did not forgive her act. “That’s the Saudi Arabian law. When somebody commits murder, the court will rule a death sentence unless the victim’s family forgives the perpetrator. We have tried, but couldn’t yet break the rigidity of death sentence in Saudi Arabia,” Jumhur explained.
The execution of Ruyati once again rings the alarm on legal protection for Indonesians working abroad. Moreover, Migrant Care has a record that there are 26 other Indonesian workers in Saudi Arabia sentenced to death by the local court.
Currently the number of Indonesian workers in Saudi Arabia reached 1.5 million. Around 90 percent work as house maids and drivers for individual employers. This group of workers is prone to violence.
Translated by Indah Lestari
Resmi Jadi Presiden Terpilih, Prabowo Tak Akan Mundur dari Jabatan Menhan
Setelah ditetapkan sebagai presiden RI terpilih periode 2024-2029 Prabowo dipastikan tidak akan mundur dari jabatannya saat ini selaku Menteri Pertahanan RI.
