http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=63333&d=7&m=5&y=2005
Saturday, 7, May, 2005 (28, Rabi` al-Awwal, 1426)
Indonesian Maid, Sponsors Charged in Torture Case
Abdul Wahab Bashir, Arab News
Nour Miyati in hospital.
JEDDAH, 7 May 2005 - All the principals in the case of an Indonesian
guest worker who was believed to have been tortured have been charged in the
case. Indonesian maid Nour Miyati who accused her Saudi employers of torture
has been charged with making false allegations; the sponsor and his wife face
charges of neglect, with the husband also charged with residence permit
violations and the wife charged with assaulting the maid.
The General Investigation and Control Commission questioned the sponsor
after his arrest on March 21. He denied that he or any member of his family had
beaten or tortured the 25-year-old Indonesian woman and that he did not know
the source of her wounds.
On May 3, the commission ordered the sponsor's release and decided that
all three should appear in court. No date has been set for the trial.
Miyati captured headlines when she was taken to a Riyadh hospital by her
employer in March in critical condition with severe injuries causing gangrene
to her fingers, toes and part of her right foot. She has had some of her
fingers amputated.
She claimed she had been tied up for a month in a bathroom by her
employers who also allegedly beat her severely, injuring her eye and knocking
several of her teeth out. The couple denied all charges.
A statement issued by the Riyadh governorate yesterday said investigators
found Miyati was struck in the face with a shoe by the wife of her sponsor. The
maid alleged the wife beat her "when she saw her walking in the house without
underwear," said a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.
The wife earlier denied the assault alleging she did not know the cause
of the maid's injuries and that she had been told "a closet used for keeping
clothes had fallen on her and that may have caused the injuries."
The 15-year-old son of the sponsor questioned by the commission termed
the relationship between his parents and the maid "normal," and they had not
beaten her. He said he noted the maid was wearing gloves while at home.
A medical committee set up by Riyadh Governor from a number of
specialists from the Ministry of Health concluded that the maid suffered wounds
and bruises to her body, "suggesting she has been the victim of violence and
that the gangrene could not have been caused as a direct result of beating and
that it probably was caused by an inherent disease suffered by the patient."
The committee concluded that it could not be established whether one or
more persons beat the maid or whether the wounds were self-inflicted. The
statement said the sponsor, the wife and the maid were questioned for the
second time. The employer denied torture and binding the maid.
Miyati herself retracted earlier charges to this effect, though a medical
committee found wounds and bruises on her body suggesting she had been the
victim of violence.
"The sponsor denied the charges and defended his first statement. The
wife admitted she hit the maid with a shoe on her face after noticing her
indecent behavior from the way she dressed. The maid denied she had been beaten
by her sponsor and said the injuries to her hands and feet were because she
felt pain and sickness and that the itching in her hands and feet was because
of her excessive use of chemical detergents. She also said she did not ask her
sponsor to take her to hospital until after her condition worsened. She also
denied she has been tortured or tied or denied food," the statement said.
As a result, the couple has been charged with neglect. The employer also
was charged with violating the rules governing issuing residence permits for
domestic helpers, and his wife was charged with assaulting the maid.
Miyati, for her part, was charged with making false allegations that
misled the inquiry and led to the detention of the sponsor throughout the
investigation before he was released on bail.
The Riyadh governorate attributed the delay in clarifying case to the
lengthy investigation.
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