KUWAIT: PINAY CONVICT RETURNS HOME AFTER 10-YEAR DETENTION

A Filipina who was saved from the death penalty in Kuwait is set to arrive in the Philippines in the afternoon after being detained there for 10 years, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.
Marilou Ranario, who worked as a domestic helper in Kuwait, will arrive in Manila at 4:25 p.m., the DFA said. She was arrested and sentenced to death by a Kuwaiti Court in 2005 for killing her employer.
In a news release, the DFA said after learning of the Filipina's case, it “crafted a legal strategy to ensure the protection of her rights throughout the legal process.”
The death sentence on the Filipina was commuted to life imprisonment in 2007, and to 10 years imprisonment in 2009, the DFA said.
“We are very happy that she will go home and be reunited with her family. We wish she could start anew,” said Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Renato Villa in the news release.
Villa said the embassy continues to regularly visit Filipino detainees at the Kuwait Central Prison and provide legal assistance to secure their pardon or commutation of sentence and eventual release from prison.