Saudi Finally Executes Indonesian Maid For Killing Employer During Rape Attack

A Mother-of-one Tuti Tursilawati who killed her boss while acting in self-defence during rape has been executed.

Jakarata has demanded to know why Saudi Arabia didn’t give prior notice of the execution.

Ms Tursilawati, who was working in the city of Ta’if, was found guilty of killing her employer in June 2011.

Indonesia has filed an official protest to Saudi Arabia after it executed the Indonesian maid without notifying its consular staff or her family.

Tuti Tursilawati, a mother of one, had been convicted of murdering her employer, who workers rights’ group Migrant Care said was trying to rape her at the time.

Joko Widodo, the Indonesian president, criticised Saudi Arabia’s action on Wednesday, saying that his government had demanded better protection of Indonesian workers in the country.

“We have called Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister and conveyed our protest,” Mr Widodo was quoted as saying by the office of his cabinet secretary.

Ms Tursilawati, who was convicted in 2011, was executed on Monday in the city of Thaif, marking the fourth such case of Saudi Arabia carrying out the death sentence on an Indonesian migrant worker without prior notice in the past three years. Eighteen more Indonesians remain on death row.

Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo has criticised a Saudi decision to execute an Indonesian maid
Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo has criticised a Saudi decision to execute an Indonesian maid

The controversy over her death comes at a time when Saudi Arabia continues to face harsh questions over the brutal murder of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi in its consulate in Istanbul.

Indonesia’s frustration has been heightened by the timing of the execution, which was carried out less than a week after Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi foreign minister, met with his counterpart in Jakarta to discuss migrant workers rights.

It was the fourth time in three years that Saudi Arabia had failed to notify Jakarta before executing an Indonesian migrant worker.

‘We have called Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister and conveyed our protest,’ Mr Widodo was quoted as saying by the office of his cabinet secretary.

Indonesian advocacy group Migrant Care said in September that Ms Tuti Tursilawati had been defending herself from being raped.

‘The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has ignored principles of human rights, including a right for everyone to live,’ said Abidin Fikri, a member of Indonesia’s parliament.

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