Lanka in fresh bid to get mercy for Rizana
MD RASOOLDEEN
A delegation led by Western Province Governor Alavi Mowlana is to
arrive in Riyadh this week to seek clemency for Rizana Nafeek from the
parents of the infant who was killed during her care.
Nafeek was sentenced to death by a three-member bench at the Dawadmi
High Court on June 16, 2007 for killing the baby she was entrusted to
look after in the absence of her Saudi employers at home.
According to sources from the External Affairs Ministry in Colombo,
the delegation will comprise top officials from the ministry, Sri Lanka
Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) and Rizana’s parents Mohammed and
Rifana Nafeek.
The accused maintained that the newborn choked during bottle-feeding,
and that she tried to seek help.
Sources revealed that the delegation would try to meet the parents of
the deceased child and the tribal leader to seek a pardon for Nafeek on
humanitarian grounds.
Legal experts in the Kingdom say Nafeek can only be saved if pardoned
by the victim’s family. The pardon can be offered with or without a
request for blood money.
In August this year, the Royal Court forwarded the case for an
amicable settlement with the Saudi parents of the child she was
convicted of killing.
Arab News learned that the case had been referred from the Royal
Court to the Riyadh governorate through the Interior Ministry during the
first week of Ramadan.
During an appeal made on behalf of the accused, the judgment was
upheld by the Supreme Court in Riyadh on September 25 last year.
Subsequently, the case was forwarded to the Royal Court.
In September last year, President Mahinda Rajapaksa had also
requested Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to pardon
Nafeek. Sri Lankan Ambassador Ahmed A. Jawad met with then acting Riyadh
Governor Prince Sattam, who is currently the governor of the province,
for an update on the progress of the case. During discussions, the
prince confirmed that the case was now being taken up by the
Reconciliation Committee (RC) of the governorate, whose members were
currently negotiating with the parents of the deceased child.
The RC members usually approach the plaintiff to negotiate a pardon
for the accused. Such negotiations are either settled with the payment
of blood money or a graceful pardon from the aggrieved parties.
There is no set period for the RC to take a decision; negotiations
may take weeks or sometimes several months to settle a case, sources
said. Subsequently, Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare Minister
Dilan Perera was on a day’s visit to Riyadh to explore opportunities for
a negotiated pardon for Nafeek.
Ibrahim Sahib Ansar also came to Riyadh to hold discussions with the
visiting minister on matters concerning Nafeek.
Ansar had earlier met with the tribal leader of the victim’s family
with former Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister Hussein Bhaila.
According to Perera, who has been entrusted by Rajapaksa to
coordinate the case with the Saudi government, his government is ready
to pay the requested blood money to save the girl. “The government is so
concerned, the whole country is focused on this case, and we are all
interested in saving this poor maid, who came to the Kingdom in search
of greener pastures,” he said.
Arab News |
