JINHA

NEWS CENTER – Yesterday, Saudi Arabia suddenly executed an Indonesian domestic worker who had been on death row since 1999. Siti Zainab Binti Duhri Rupa's "confession" had been obtained under police custody and without a lawyer, and she had a history of mental illness that makes the confession more suspect.

According to Amnesty International, Siti Zainab was condemned to death in 1999, but authorities waited for the youngest of the victim’s children to reach adulthood to decide whether or not the family would want to pardon Siti Zainab. Yesterday, without giving any warning to Siti Zainab's family or the Indonesian government, Saudi Arabia executed her in Medina.

Siti Zainab's employer and the employer's son had mistreated her, as she had related in several letters she had written at the time.

The execution brings the number of executions so far in 2015 to at least 60. This compares with 90 in 2014. Saudi Arabia has previously executed a number of migrant domestic workers like Siti Zainab, who generally are not given access to a translator or lawyer when their "confessions" are obtained by police.

Amnesty International has condemned the killing, especially because of Siti Zainab's mental illnesss.

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