http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article229988.ece
Sumiati appears in Madinah court, shows her wounds By MD HUMAIDAN | ARAB NEWS Published: Jan 6, 2011 00:08 Updated: Jan 6, 2011 00:08 JEDDAH: An Indonesian maid who has accused her Saudi employer of stabbing, beating and burning her appeared in court for the first time on Wednesday and showed her wounds. Sumiati Binti Salan Mustapa, 23, showed the judge her injuries, especially her head, said Diddi Wahyudi, an official at the Indonesian Consulate General in Jeddah. Sumiati's woman employer was arrested after allegedly beating her so severely that she broke her bones and caused her to bleed internally. The employer is also accused of putting a hot iron to her head and stabbing and slashing her with scissors. During the hearing, the woman "denied everything, saying that the maid had beat herself," Wahyudi said. "When he was shown photographs of Sumiat's injuries, the judge said that everybody knows from these pictures that (the maid) must have been beaten by someone," he added. The Indonesian official also said the Saudi woman's son has earlier testified against his mother. Wayhudi said the next hearing has been set for a week later. The case, which being heard at a court in Madinah, had been postponed on Dec. 28 because the maid was not ready to confront the woman, Wahyudi said at the time. Ahmed Al-Rashid, the lawyer representing the Saudi woman, said his client is innocent and deserves compensation for mental, health and social damages. He has requested the judge to release her on bail. But Al-Rashid is not sure whether the court will accept his request at the next session on Sunday. Sumiati spoke at the court with the support of two translators. An Indonesian consular official was also present at the court during the hearing. Sumiati's case became public when she came to the emergency section of King Fahd Hospital in Madinah with multiple wounds on her body. She then told police that her employer had tortured her. Her case has shocked and outraged rights groups and labor activists as another example of the paucity of protection given to millions of mostly Asian domestic workers, especially in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states. The Ministry of Labor said it was sorry about the case, but called it an isolated one. Wahyudi said Sumiati underwent surgery in November and that she would need to be operated on once more. He said she is still seeking outstanding pay and other benefits from several months of employment in Saudi Arabia. "She has nothing, she does not even have a single abaya," Wahyudi said. "She wants her employer to be punished severely," he added. He said the Indonesian government is still pursuing the case of another maid, Kikim Komalasari, whose dead body was found near Abha earlier in November after being beaten. Two people, her employers, have been arrested in that case, Wahyudi said. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
