An Indonesian Maid Was Executed For Killing Her Boss Who Tried To Rape Her
Saudi Arabia executed Tuti Tursilawati on 29 October without informing Indonesia.
By Jia Vern Tham — 01 Nov 2018, 01:43 PM
Tuti Tursilawati was an Indonesian maid who worked in Saudi Arabia. In 2011, she was sentenced to death for murdering her Saudi employer.
China Press reported that Tuti began working for Suud Malhaq Al Utaibi, a Saudi man in 2009.
A mother of one, Tuti killed Suud in 2010 for trying to rape her, according to Indonesian workers rights' group Migrant Care.
UCA News reported that Tuti was beheaded in the Saudi city of Thaif.
Tuti was executed by Saudi Arabia on 29 October, a week after Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir's visit to Indonesia
The Washington Post reported Widodo as saying that he has filed a complaint to al-Jubeir and demand an explanation on why the Indonesian government was not notified that Tuti was to be executed on 29 October.
According to South China Morning Post (SCMP), Widodo had mentioned Tuti's case during al-Jubeir's visit to Indonesia, and that the case had been brought up on multiple occasions with other Saudi officials such as King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Joko Widodo welcomes Adel al-Jubeir to the presidential palace in Bogor, Indonesia on 22 October.
Image via The Washington PostThe Telegraph reported that al-Jebeir was in Indonesia to discuss migrant workers' rights.
The Saudi Foreign Minister's meeting with Indonesian officials included a talk on mandatory consular notification before any capital punishment is carried out against Indonesian citizens.
"The execution of Tuti Tursilawati was done without notification to our representatives, either in Riyadh or Jeddah," said Lalu Muhmmad Iqbal, director of the Indonesian foreign ministry on 30 October.
Tuti was one of the 11 million foreign workers residing in Saudi Arabia
SCMP reported that the foreign workers in Saudi Arabia come from over 100 countries. About 2.3 million of them work in households, often as maids.
According to The Washington Post, 20 Indonesians remain on death row in Saudi Arabia as of March this year.
"The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has ignored principles of human rights, including a right for everyone to live," Abidin Fikri, a member of Indonesia's parliament, was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.
Nonetheless, Indonesia's Amnesty International director Usman Hamid called out the hypocrisy of the government in its protest of Tuti's execution.
"It just isn't logical that Indonesia requests another country to release one of its citizens from the death row when Indonesia itself still practices the inhumane and violent punishment," Usman said, according to SCMP.