Rizana case postponed indefinitely

MOHAMMED RASOOLDEEN in Riyadh

The Dawadmi High Court indefinitely postponed yesterday the case of Rizana Nafeek, the Sri Lankan maid sentenced to death in 2007 for death of an infant in her care. The fate of the young woman, who is fighting a death sentence, at this point depends largely on the alleged confession she made.

Two witnesses who were to vouch for the character of the Tamil translator of the confession - who has since left the country - did not appear in court, which led to the postponement.

A three-member Bench headed by Chief Justice Abdullah Al-Rosaimi took up the case yesterday to hear the two witnesses to vouch for the Mustaffa Saibo's honesty, integrity and ability to translate from Tamil.

During the last hearing, which took place on November 4, Nafeek's lawyer Kateb Al-Shammari said Saibo should be questioned in court for clarifications regarding accuracy of his translation. The lawyer said the court couldn't come to a conclusion without questioning the veracity of Saibo's statements on which the death sentence was based.

Shammari said that the police in the area also were expected to present two witnesses who knew Saibo to the local court in Jezmi, which in turn will present them to the Dawadmi High Court.

The Dawadmi High Court reviewed the case yesterday on the instructions of the Supreme Judicial Council. The case has bounced between these courts and through the Court of Cassation numerous times.

The father of the deceased infant, Naif Jiziyan Khalaf Al-Otaibi, who has regularly appeared for these hearings, was not seen in court this time. Prison authorities also did not bring Nafeek.

Sri Lankan Ambassador Abdul Ageed Mohamed Marleen said that Nafeek had to wait till the case is taken up again. The date for the next hearing is unknown.

He said some reconciliatory measures with Al-Otaibi would prevent the maid languishing in jail for a longer term. He did not elaborate.

Kifaya Ifhtikar, a social worker who met Nafeek yesterday in the prison, said that the maid looked sick and the doctors have advised her to undergo a surgery for a hernia. Nafeek had told Ifhtikar that the surgery might take place in early February as her health condition improves.

Nafeek, arrived in Riyadh, May 4, 2005 and quickly began work as a housemaid in the Al-Otaibi household in Dawadami, about 390 km west of Riyadh, had transferred her.

Apart from performing the daily household chores of cleaning, cooking washing and ironing clothes, Rizana had also been entrusted with the responsibility of looking after the sponsor's four-month old infant son, which she was not trained to do.

The incident that led to the death of the infant occurred around 12:30 p.m. on May 22, 2005, while the accused maid was bottle-feeding the infant. Rizana claims the baby accidentally choked and that she tried to get help; the parents claim she committed pre-meditated murder.

Further complicating the case is the fact that Rizana came to Saudi Arabia prior to her 18th birthday on a passport that had faked her date of birth.

It is illegal for people under the age of 18 to travel to Saudi Arabia to work and sending minors (as defined by persons under the age of 18) to work is a human trafficking crime. To this day the recruiter involved with forging a Lankan passport and facilitating Nafeek's move to the Kingdom has not been arrested, identified or charged with this violation of international and national laws regarding the exploitation of minors.