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View all search resultsGovt has no budget to pay 'diyat' for migrants overseas
Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi says the government has allocated no budget for diyat (blood money) to save a number of migrant workers from capital punishment in Saudi Arabia
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F
oreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi says the government has allocated no budget for diyat (blood money) to save a number of migrant workers from capital punishment in Saudi Arabia.
'In helping Indonesian citizens facing capital punishment [overseas], there are things we can do to make clear the state's presence. But there are limits to what we can do; we are limited to giving advocacy and protection,' she said in a hearing with the House's Commission I on information, defense and foreign affairs on Thursday.
Retno admitted that the government had limitations in what it could do to give protection to 299 Indonesians facing capital punishment overseas, including a number of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia.
According to Saudi Arabian law, people convicted to death for murder can be reprieved of execution provided the victims' family expresses pardon and the convict pays diyat. An edict on diyat issued by Saudi Arabian clerics set the amount at 200,000 riyal (US$4,743) for a female convict and 400,000 riyal for a male.
Retno, however, said that despite not paying the diyat, the Foreign Affairs Ministry and Indonesian embassies were providing more support for citizens sentenced to death abroad, including legal aid and the recruitment of professional lawyers.
Retno said further that no countries paid diyat for their citizens facing capital punishment in Saudi Arabia but that the government could facilitate fund-raising events.
'In case of legal advocacy, we will go all out, but when it comes to diyat, we have limitations,' she said.
Last year, the government paid 7 million riyal ($1.86 million) in diyat to save the life of Indonesian migrant worker Satinah Binti Jumadi Ahmad, who was sentenced to death for murdering her employer and stealing 37,970 riyal from her in the town of Gaseem in July 2007.
Malaysia has executed several Indonesian migrants for trafficking drugs and marijuana, while several more are appealing to the country's High Court after receiving death sentences for drug and murder cases.
According to data from the Manpower Ministry, around 2.7 million Indonesian citizens are working overseas but, in reality, the figure is at least twice that, with around three million working illegally in the Middle East and Malaysia. (rms)(++++)
