RIZANA’S DEATH AND DILAN’S UNAWARENESS

Hours after Rizana was executed Minister Dilan had spoken about her chances of getting freed in Parliament

Rizana Naffeek was executed according to ‘Sharya’ law on the 9th in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia on charges of killing a four month old infant baby by choking while she was feeding her milk with a feeding bottle. She had found employment as a house maid. According to Sri Lankan time it was 11.40 a.m. on the 9th instant. The Minister of Foreign employment promotion, development and welfare Minister Dilan Perera became a subject of laughter and amazement as he had spoken in the Parliament on the same day after two hours later at 1.40 p.m.that the Sri Lanka Government with a personal letter from Hon. President had appealed to the King of Saudi Arabia to give a redress and a pardon and that she would be released very soon.
Four days back on the 5th January has written a personal letter to the King of Saudi Arabia in this regard and he in particular had thought the request may be a successful one. It is now learnt reliably that this letter had not been given weight and redress and it had been of no avail.
Rizana had gone to Saudi Arabia through a Colombo foreign employment agency when she was only 17 years old. The decision and the consent had been taken by her parents on the grounds of poverty. The breadwinner of the family her father was Mohamed Sultan Naffeek had been earning just meagre amounts by cutting trees which was barely sufficient for the household expenses. He had decided to send her elder daughter to Saudi Arabia to work as a house maid. Accordingly Rizana had left to Saudi Arabia on the 1st April 2004.She was sent as a house maid to her employer Arabian National Naif Jiziyan Khalaf Al Otaibi. After the employee’s wife’s confinement she was sent to a house in Dawadam city. On the 25th May 2005 afternoon Rizana in the afternoon at around 12.30 p.m the child was fed milk by a feeding bottle. Suddenly the four month old infant had put off the milk from her nose and mouth. Rizana had stroked her throat to give the infant some relief had been of no avail. The four month old infant had passed away.
The same day she was arrested. The Police had forced her to make a statement that she killed the infant child. She had revealed later that owing to pressurising her she was forced to give that confession. The same confession she had made to courts. She had also made a confession that a Sri Lanka’s foreign employment agency had enhanced her age by six years and had sent by preparing fake documents. During the appeal court hearing a three member panel of judges headed by a Chief Justice Abdulla al Rosaimi found Rizana guilty of killing a four month old infant had given the verdict on 16th June 2007.She was sentenced to death. Although she appealed against the verdict it was not changed.
The Officials of the Sri Lanka foreign Employment Bureau had sent a letter on the 25th October 2010 along with a personal letter signed by our President to give her pardon. The Asia Human Rights Organisation also had made an appeal to the King of Saudi Arabia to consider a pardon to her. All these efforts had proved futile. When it was referred to the reconciliation committee as well and there too it was again rejected.
For sending Rifana with her age enhanced and with fake documents the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau had filed a case against the foreign Employment agency personnel at the Magistrates courts Colombo. The Magistrate had ordered two persons involved to be imprisoned for two years and had requested to pay a sum of Rupees 60,000/- each to Rizana’s parents. At the beginning of this year 2013 the Supreme Court of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had informed that her execution of Rizana Nafeek would be made very shortly. On the 5th January 2013 a personal letter was sent by our President to the king of Saudi Arabia to offer her a pardon and to release her. To this letter the King of Saudi Arabia had not taken any notice of it as he had not even acknowledged or replied.
After Rizan’s execution her parents had been informed. The Minister of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare Dilan Perera had known about the news only at 2 p.m. after the execution had taken place. To express sorrow and for last respects one minute silence was observed by all Members of the Parliament.
An appeal was made against the judgement was filed by a Riyard based law firm which put forward her appeal to a reconciliation committe.