SAUDI GOVT SHOULD HAVE NOTIFIED RI OF ITS EXECUTION PLAN

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 15 (Antara) - The Saudi Government should have informed Indonesia its plan to execute Indonesian death convict Siti Zaenab who was found guilty of murdering her Saudi employer.          International law professor at the University of Indonesia (UI) Hikmahanto Juwana said the Indonesian Government could do nothing about the execution of its citizen because it concerned the legal sovereignty of Saudi Arabia.          However, the Saudi Government has made a consular mistake by carrying out the execution without notifying any Indonesian representative about it, the international law professor noted on Wednesday.         According to Hikmahanto, in accordance with international affairs, a nation has the obligation to notify countries concerned before executing their citizens.        Therefore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has lodged its strong protest and summoned the Saudi ambassador seeking an explanation with regard to the matter.          "We have sent a letter to the Saudi Government asking why we were not notified about the execution," Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi stated here on Tuesday night.         She noted that the Indonesian Government and people learnt about the execution but were not informed about its implementation in advance.         "We have made all efforts through diplomatic channels, legal avenues, and by approaching the family of the victim as well as sending a presidential letter during my meeting with Saudi deputy foreign minister in March (to ask for a pardon)," she noted.          She revealed that maximum efforts had been taken, including offering compensation money. "Because they follow Qisas as their legal system, the decision (to pardon) was fully in the hands of the family of the victim."     The Indonesian Consulate General in Jidda received information that Siti Zaenab binti Duhri Rupa was executed in Medina at 10 A.M. local time on Tuesday, according to a press statement issued by the Indonesian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday.         Zaenab, an Indonesian migrant worker employed in Saudi Arabia, was sentenced to death after a court found her guilty of murdering the wife of her employer in 1999.         She had been imprisoned in a Medina jail since October 5, 1999. After a series of court proceedings, the Medina Court sentenced her to death on January 8, 2001.         According to a Saudi Arabian law, only the heir of the victim can pardon the guilty.         The execution was put on hold pending the only son of the victim becoming an adult at the age of 13 and making a decision.          In 2013, after he was declared an adult, the victim's son refused to pardon Zaenab, demanding that she be executed.          Therefore, the Saudi Arabian legal authorities carried out the execution of Zaenab on Tuesday (April 14), but they did not notify any Indonesian representative.         "We did not receive any information with regard to the execution beforehand," Retno Marsudi claimed.          Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Indonesia Mustofa Ibrahim Al Mubarak said the Indonesian representative in Saudi Arabia was informed of the plan to execute the convict, but the date of the execution was not revealed because it was the authority of the court.         "Legal process in Zaenab's case had been explained earlier, but I could not say when the execution was to be carried out," Mubarak told reporters at the State Palace on Wednesday.         He revealed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also raised the same question on the absence of such a notification from the Saudi Government on the date of the execution.         "The Saudi Government cannot influence the judicial process, but as far as I know, this kind of legal process is normal in Saudi Arabia," the Saudi ambassador stated.          According to Marsudi, Indonesia was informed about Zaenab's execution by the Saudi Arabian Government after it was already carried out.         "We received the information from our consulate in Jidda only after the execution had already been carried out," she noted.          Marsudi added that she had sent a note in protest, asking why any Indonesian representative was not informed about the execution beforehand.          Following the execution, President Joko Widodo expressed his deepest condolences to the bereaved family and stressed his government's commitment to protect its citizens, the foreign minister pointed out.          She said the government has also offered help to the grieving family, such as arranging their travel to Saudi Arabia to receive the deceased.          In the meantime, Chairman of the House of Representatives Setya Novanto has urged the government to evaluate coordination with Indonesian embassies."We expect the government to conduct an evaluation of coordination with our embassies," Novanto said here Wednesday.          He added that as the case of Zaenab will be a problem for her families and other Indonesians, the government should immediately resolve it with concrete measures.          "The government should evaluate negotiations related to Indonesian citizens facing the death penalty," he emphasized. The government should prepare a budget for negotiation processes as and when it will be required to spend a considerable amount.          "The expenses should be managed by relevant institutions such as the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK)," he pointed out.          The House also urged the government to collect data on Indonesians facing legal cases abroad, particularly in Saudi Arabia. Ahmad Zainuddin, a member of Commission I, which oversees foreign affairs, of the House of Representatives (DPR), emphasized that data on the country's citizens implicated in legal cases in Saudi Arabia need to be revealed.         He urged the ministry to reveal data on the number of Indonesians facing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, including data on the status of their legal processes and the defense measures that the government has taken so far.         "I am afraid many such cases might have taken place in the past, but only Zaenab's case was exposed," the lawmaker pointed out.         As many as 228 Indonesian migrant workers are currently awaiting execution in various countries for their involvement in a variety of criminal cases, according to the Foreign Affairs Ministry.         "Of the total, 37 are in Saudi Arabia," Director of Citizen Protection Moh Iqbal stated after visiting the family of Siti Zaenab in Bangkalan on the island of Madura, East Java.***2*** (T.A014/INE) EDITED BY INE (T.A014/A/BESSR/A. Abdussalam) 15-04-2015 20:49: