SRI LANKA: Rizana court documents for Saudi Judiciary

August 22, 2011

SAUDI ARABIA/SRI LANKA: Rizana court documents for Saudi Judiciary's consideration

Legal documents pointing to the fact that housemaid Rizana Nafeek was under age at the time she went to Saudi Arabia, where she is under sentence of death for the alleged killing of a child, will be forwarded to the Saudi Judiciary for consideration. The Ministry of Justice is seeking to expedite the process for Rizana's possible release.

The charge sheet and reports indicate that Rizana's work and travel documents carried a false date of birth, suggesting that Rizana was older than she really was at the time of her arrival in Saudi Arabia.

The job agents were produced in court on Wednesday, and were remanded till August 30.

Justice Minister Rauff Hakeem, who recently met the father of Rizana, is in discussions with the Attorney-General's Department and the CID about taking action against the job agents for unlawful human trafficking, a punishable offence. Meanwhile, at a recent Ifthar function held at the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Sri Lanka, the Saudi envoy told Justice Ministry representatives that a favourable outcome to the Rizana Nafeek case was a possibility in the near future.

About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation that monitors human rights in Asia, documents violations and advocates for justice and institutional reform to ensure the protection and promotion of these rights. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.

Visit our new website with more features at www.humanrights.asia.

ENDS

© Scoop Media