Govt pays ‘diyat’ to prevent execution

JAKARTA: The National Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers paid blood money, known as diyat in Arabic, to save migrant worker Ahmad Fauzi from death by beheading in Saudi Arabia.

Fauzi is on death row after being convicted of killing fellow migrant worker Tarino in Jeddah in 2008.

Agency head Jumhur Hidayat gave Rp 100 million (US$11,740) to Tarino’s wife, Sukijah. The Indonesian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Gatot Abdullah Mansyur, and Fauzi’s brother, Cholid, witnessed the exchange.

Along with the blood money, the national agency also issued Ahmad’s most recent salary, worth Rp 3 million, and aid from the agency worth Rp 7 million.

Cholid said his brother was with 40 other migrant workers when he lost his wallet and passport. Fauzi asked his friends whether any of them stole his belongings. His friends took offense and beat him severely. Cholid said Fauzi struck Tarino with an iron pipe and killed him in the process of defending himself. Cholid defended his brother, saying Fauzi must have killed Tarino accidentally. “My brother is not a murderer by nature,” he said. — JP