Lankan girl on Saudi death row appeals for help

Mohammed NAALIR

COLOMBO: The family of a Sri Lankan girl facing a sentence of death by beheading in Saudi Arabia is seeking Government help to file an appeal in Saudi Arabia to spare her life.

A Foreign Ministry source said the Ministry is making every possible attempt to secure Rizana Nasik’s life considering, her family plight.

The family still has time to appeal but due to financial difficulties they are seeking Government assistance. The girl is to be beheaded on July 17 on charges of killing her employer’s baby.

The family requires to pay Rs. 4.5 million (600,000 Saudi Riyals) to the child’s parents to win a reprieve from the death sentence.

The parents seek Government assistance to raise this sum to spare their daughter from being put to death.

According to sources the girl was assaulted by the employer’s wife over an issue. The girl was carrying the baby at that time and while reacting to the blow, suffocated the infant accidently.

The employer argues that the girl deliberately killed her baby.