Indonesian maid abuse sentence appealed
Tuesday, 15 March 2011
Sumiati Mustapa said her employer beat and scorched he
RIYADH (Khaled al-Shaei) The Appeals Court in Mecca issued on Monday a ruling to revoke the jail sentence imposed on a Saudi woman charged with torturing her Indonesian maid and to review the case on the grounds that evidence condemning the defendant was not strong enough.
The judge that passed the three-year jail sentence on a Saudi woman for the physical assault of her 23-year-old Indonesian maid, Sumiati Mustapa, had committed several mistakes that were enough to revoke the ruling, said the defendant’s lawyer Ahmed al-Rashed.
“We objected to the sentence at the Court of Appeals because several of its legal procedures were missing,” Rashed told AlArabiya.net. “And we demanded that my client be released on bail until the case is reviewed.”
The judge that passed the three-year jail sentence on a Saudi woman for the physical assault of her 23-year-old Indonesian maid, Sumiati Mustapa, had committed several mistakes that were enough to revoke the ruling, said the defendant’s lawyer Ahmed al-Rashed.
“We objected to the sentence at the Court of Appeals because several of its legal procedures were missing,” Rashed told AlArabiya.net. “And we demanded that my client be released on bail until the case is reviewed.”
Judge’s mistakes
Rashed explained that the verdict gave priority to public right over private right. When charging the defendant with human trafficking, the judge made the plaintiff and not the defendant give her testimony under oath while it should have been the other way round, and the verdict was handed down quickly.
“For these three reasons, the case will be re-opened, but in case the judge insists on the previous verdict, the case will be assigned to another judge.”
The judge, Rashed added, may have been affected by the media hype that accompanied the case along with the point of view of the Indonesian embassy in Riyadh.
“This is how he handled the case and I do not blame him, yet he based his verdict on civil and not religious laws and that is why we have the right to object to it.”
Rashed denied that his client had admitted to abusing and assaulting the maid and expressed his concerns over the imprisonment of the defendant, who is in her 60s, for almost two months without proof despite her health condition and the fact that she is on a wheel chair.
“My client denied committing the crime and the media reports that her son made on her are not true and not documented in the case files.”
According to Rashed, the defendant told the court that the maid has a psychological disorder and that she is the one who inflicted injuries upon herself, yet when the maid was referred to a psychiatrist and his report proved that she was sane, the judge considered this a proof that the defendant is guilty.
“The judge assumed that if the maid is sane, then it is her employer who did that to her because the maid works for her. He also passed the verdict in accordance with the human trafficking law and this does not apply to my client.”
“For these three reasons, the case will be re-opened, but in case the judge insists on the previous verdict, the case will be assigned to another judge.”
The judge, Rashed added, may have been affected by the media hype that accompanied the case along with the point of view of the Indonesian embassy in Riyadh.
“This is how he handled the case and I do not blame him, yet he based his verdict on civil and not religious laws and that is why we have the right to object to it.”
Rashed denied that his client had admitted to abusing and assaulting the maid and expressed his concerns over the imprisonment of the defendant, who is in her 60s, for almost two months without proof despite her health condition and the fact that she is on a wheel chair.
“My client denied committing the crime and the media reports that her son made on her are not true and not documented in the case files.”
According to Rashed, the defendant told the court that the maid has a psychological disorder and that she is the one who inflicted injuries upon herself, yet when the maid was referred to a psychiatrist and his report proved that she was sane, the judge considered this a proof that the defendant is guilty.
“The judge assumed that if the maid is sane, then it is her employer who did that to her because the maid works for her. He also passed the verdict in accordance with the human trafficking law and this does not apply to my client.”
Indonesian public opinion
Rashed accused the Indonesian government of trying to take advantage of the maid’s case in order to make financial gains.
“The Indonesian public opinion made Saudis seem like monsters in order to raise the fees for hiring Indonesian maids and this is what happened.”
On the other hand, spokesman of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Michael Tene objected to the initial sentence, which he considered very lenient when compared to the damages inflicted upon the maid.
Tene said that maid’s lawyers will appeal the verdict and explained that the torture to which Mustapa was subjected requires at least 15 years in jail.
Indonesian President Susilo Mambang Yudhoyono also issued a statement slamming the violence against Mustapa and dispatched Indonesian Minister of Women’s Affairs Linda Gumelar to follow up on the case.
“The Indonesian public opinion made Saudis seem like monsters in order to raise the fees for hiring Indonesian maids and this is what happened.”
On the other hand, spokesman of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Michael Tene objected to the initial sentence, which he considered very lenient when compared to the damages inflicted upon the maid.
Tene said that maid’s lawyers will appeal the verdict and explained that the torture to which Mustapa was subjected requires at least 15 years in jail.
Indonesian President Susilo Mambang Yudhoyono also issued a statement slamming the violence against Mustapa and dispatched Indonesian Minister of Women’s Affairs Linda Gumelar to follow up on the case.
Sumiati Mustapa’s case
The case of Indonesian maid Sumiati Binti Salan Mustapa made headlines last year in both Saudi Arabia and Indonesia after the 23-year-old maid accused her employer, a widow in her 60s, of abusing her by beating and burning different parts of her body, especially her neck, left hand and upper lip, where she sustained severe injuries.
The employer denied the maid’s accusations and said Mustapa’s injuries were the result of a suicide attempt as she tried to jump from the balcony.
After standing trial, the employer was handed down three years in jail on charges of human trafficking.
After Rashed and the defendant’s other lawyer, Abdul Rahman Hajjar, filed an appeal, the Court of Appeals in Mecca ordered the General Court in Medina, which passed the initial jail verdict, to review the case.
(Translated from the Arabic by Sonia Farid)
The employer denied the maid’s accusations and said Mustapa’s injuries were the result of a suicide attempt as she tried to jump from the balcony.
After standing trial, the employer was handed down three years in jail on charges of human trafficking.
After Rashed and the defendant’s other lawyer, Abdul Rahman Hajjar, filed an appeal, the Court of Appeals in Mecca ordered the General Court in Medina, which passed the initial jail verdict, to review the case.
(Translated from the Arabic by Sonia Farid)
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