Real Child Protection

September 22, 2007 permalink

In Saudi Arabia, motherhood is not a crime, instead is protected by the law. A maid, Rizana Nafeek, on duty when a baby died is awaiting beheading for her neglect. Contrast that with Canada, where a baby dies in CAS custody without legal consequence.

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The Middle East's Leading English Language Daily

Sunday, 16, September, 2007 (04, Ramadhan, 1428)

Rizana Case: No Date Set for Minister’s Visit

Mohammed Rasooldeen, Arab News —

RIYADH, 16 September 2007 — A date for the forthcoming visit by Sri Lankan Minister of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare Keheliya Rambukwella has not been set. Rambukwella is planning to meet if possible with the parents of an infant who died while under the care of Rizana Nafeek, a Sri Lankan woman facing the death penalty for murder.

The maid, whom the parents accuse of murdering their newborn during her second week on the job, contends that the death of the baby was accidental, that the baby died from choking during a bottle-feeding session.

Officials at the Sri Lankan Embassy confirmed that Rambukwella would come sometime after Ramadan.

Nafeek reportedly came to the Kingdom as a minor on a forged passport claiming she was in her early 20s. She was 17 at the time of the incident, according to her Sri Lankan birth certificate.

Meanwhile, a prominent Sri Lankan philanthropist has offered a house, tractor and Rs100,000 in cash for Nafeek’s parents. Deshamanya Lalith Kotelawela, chairman Ceylinco Group, gave the money to help cover two-thirds of the lawyer’s fees. The money to pay the lawyers involved in Nafeek’s defense is being raised by the Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission.

Nafeek had no legal representation in the first trial, and signed a confession at the police station with no translator present after her arrest.

Source: Arab News