Jakarta (Antara) – A protest action against the execution of migrant worker Muhammad Zaini Misrin was held at the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Jakarta on Tuesday March 20.
The demonstrators, who came from Migrant Care, the Human Rights Working Group (HRWG), the Indonesian Migrant Worker Trade Union (SBMI) and Migrant Worker Network (JBM) called on the Saudi Arabian government to stop executing Indonesian migrant workers (TKI).
Zaini Misrin was beheaded on Sunday March 18 after serving 14 years jail on charges of murdering his employer. The Indonesian government lodged an official protest with Saudi Arabia because the execution was carried out while a judicial review was still in progress.
The demonstrators wore black T-shirts as a symbol of morning over Zaini Misrin’s death.
“At 11.30am exactly in the name of the Saudi authorities they killed Zaini Misrin who was not guilty of his employer’s murder”, said Anis Hidayah from Migrant Care in a speech.
The protesters, who brought banners with the message, “Saudi Arabia Please Stop Beheading Indonesian Migrant Workers”, said that the death penalty is a violation of human rights.
The groups said that Saudi Arabia violated international protocol because it failed to inform the Indonesian government that Zaini had been executed.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has twice sent an official letter to the Saudi Arabian government asking that TKI facing the death penalty be released but the Saudi government continues with the practice.
The demonstrators said that they have held repeated protests against the death penalty and they will continue to do so until Saudi Arabia stops using the death penalty.
Currently there are 21 TKI in Saudi Arabia facing the death sentence. Migrant Care hopes that there will be no more executions of TKI anywhere. “The death sentence is a violation of the most basic of human right namely the right to life”, said Hidayah.
The groups also called on Indonesia to stop using the death penalty itself as evidence that the country respects human rights.
Migrant Care also demanded that the Indonesian government lodge a diplomatic protest with the Saudi Arabian monarchy and declare the Saudi Arabian Ambassador persona non grata over the execution.
In addition to this, they also called on the Indonesian government to use its political and diplomatic resources to ensure the release of hundreds of other migrant workers facing the death penalty around the world.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was Aktivis Demo Kedubes Arab Saudi Protes Eksekusi Mati Zaini Misrin.]
