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Indonesians held hostage at sea, exonerated death row inmate reunite with families
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Homeward bound: Indonesian migrant workers line up for an immigration check in Saudi Arabia. (Tempo/-)
T
he Foreign Ministry handed over on Thursday three Indonesian crew members of fishing vessels and an Indonesian female migrant worker in Saudi Arabia to their respective families.
The three crew members, Aldi Fauziansyah Suwandi, Amin Sumardi and Sobirin, were previously held hostage by pirates off Gabon waters in May. Meanwhile, Etty Toyyib, a death row inmate for 20 years after she was convicted guilty by the Saudi government for allegedly poisoning and killing her employer Faisal Al- Ghamdi in 2001, has been exonerated.
“I am going to say that the whole process to help Ibu Etty escape death row was long and complicated. However, I am grateful that many people supported us in the process,” Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said on Thursday.
Etty, a migrant worker from Majalengka, West Java, was released from her capital punishment sentence after paying Rp 15.5 billion (US$ 1.1 million) in financial compensation to the victim’s family.
The fund for Etty was gained from donators, alms institutions, infaq (voluntary charity) and sadaqah (alms) from Nahdlatul Ulama – Indonesia’s largest mass Muslim organization – within seven months last year, kompas.com reported.
Etty arrived home in Indonesia on July 6, after the Indonesian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Agus Maftuh made a request for Etty’s repatriation to Makkah Governor Khalid bin Faisal Al Saud, who also serves as the adviser to Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud.
“Especially for our migrant workers in Saudi Arabia, it is important to understand the law enforcement in the kingdom. Just like how we expect foreigners to understand our rules, we must also understand theirs,” Retno said.
