SAUDI ARABIA: NAFEEK'S DEATH SENTENCE CONFIRMED

Chief Justice Abdullah Al-Rosaimi of the Supreme Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, endorsed the death sentence given to Sri Lankan maid Rizana Nafeek, 22 years old, for a crime she committed in 2005 when she was under 18, sources from Sri Lanka’s External Affairs Ministry said. Rizana Nafeek was only 17 when she arrived in Saudi Arabia to work as a housemaid in Dawadmi. Two weeks into the job, her employer’s 4-month-old infant choked to death while Nafeek was bottle-feeding the child. Accused by the parents of strangling their child, Nafeek was taken to the police station where an Indian national was drafted to interpret for the Tamil-speaking Nafeek, who speaks neither Arabic nor English. It is unclear how well the interpreter spoke Tamil. In any event, Nafeek signed a “confession” in the police station. She later said she did so under duress and because the interpreter told her she’d be killed if she didn’t sign. She also said she had not understood her police interrogators. Under Saudi law, the child’s parents could stop Nafeek’s execution if they forgave her or accepted financial compensation known as “blood money” – a step they have declined to take for the past five years.