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UN adds its voice to world outcry over Rizana’s execution
View(s):The UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions yesterday expressed his outrage at the execution of Sri Lankan housemaid Rizana Nafeek.
The Rapporteur, Christof Heyns, said “International law, accepted as binding by Saudi Arabia, was clear that it was unlawful to execute someone who was under 18 when they allegedly committed a crime. He said that moreoever, beheading was a particularly cruel form of execution. On Friday, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed “dismay” at the execution of Rizana.
She was publicly beheaded in Dawadmy Province, Saudi Arabia at 11.40 a.m. Sri Lanka time on Wednesday.
The Secretary General “is concerned about reports of irregularities in her detention and trial, as well as the increase in the use of capital punishment in Saudi Arabia,” the UN said in a statement. “Currently, in Saudi Arabia, women do not have equal access to the courts or an equal opportunity to obtain justice. The Secretary-General is concerned that this is a situation which is even more precarious for women migrant workers given their foreign status,”
The UN is the latest in a number of local and international groups condemning Rizana’s execution. The European Union has expressed its “deep dismay” at the execution and the Human Rights Watch hit out at Saudi authorities for their “callous disregard for basic humanity as well as Saudi Arabia’s international legal obligations.”
Amnesty International said in a statement that Saudi Arabia “[proved] once more how woefully out of step they are with their international obligations regarding the use of the death penalty.” Several rights groups also blamed the Sri Lankan Government for Rizana death.
“The tragic death of Rizana is a clear indication of the Sri Lankan Government’s lack of commitment to ensure proper engagement with national as well as diplomatic processes for safe migration and return of migrant workers from this country,” the Women and Media Collective and Action Network for Migrant Workers said in a statement.
Rizana’s death came as a shock following many clemency appeals to the Saudi Government, including two by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The External Affairs Ministry in a statement said the President and the Government “deplored” the execution and decided to recall Sri Lanka’s Ambassador Ahmed Jawad immediately as an expression of “displeasure.”
The local authorities were oblivious of the execution until media outlets broke the news. External Affairs Ministry Secretary Karunatilaka Amunugama said the Ministry “got the news a little late” because Saudi authorities never informed the Lankan Embassy in Riyadh of the execution. Once the news broke out, the Ministry asked Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to confirm the death.
Her last wish: Her savings to help the poor
Sri Lankan housemaid Rizana Nafeek’s last plea before her execution last Wednesday was that her savings of 500 Riyals or Rs. 17,500 be sent to her mother to be distributed among the poor, a coordinator who was among those trying to secure her release said.
Abdul Cader, the President’s Coordinator for Muslim Affairs in West Asia, said he met the tribal leader in the area where the family for which Rizana worked was living and tried to bargain for her release, but failed.
Mr. Cader’s Saudi wife had earlier met the family where Rizana worked. “The mother of the infant who died while Rizana was feeding milk refused to pardon her,” he added.Mr. Cader had visited Rizana last Saturday in prison where she had told him about her wish of sending the money back home. However she asked me “will I get a chance to go back home?”
He said all attempts were made to convince the family but the mother of the dead baby had insisted that Rizana be executed.
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