Ministry Of Foreign Affairs Returns Indonesian Citizens From Jember Who Passed The Death Penalty In Saudi Arabia

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (doc the Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kemlu) has repatriated an Indonesian citizen who escaped the death penalty in Saudi Arabia to his family in Jember, East Java, after being acquitted of being the main perpetrator of a murder case.

According to a statement from the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs received in Jakarta, Thursday, the Indonesian citizen with the initials SBB received an advocacy for the Indonesian Embassy (KBRI) in Riyadh who immediately coordinated with local law enforcers after receiving news related to the case that ensnared him in September 2023.

"Within a period of eleven months, the advocacy team attended 23 trials, 11 visits to prison, 10 times communication with the family, including visits to the SBB family home in Jember twice, and three diplomatic correspondences", according to the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, September 12.

The advocacy team formed by the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh consisted of diplomats, lawyers, and translators who were tasked with conducting legal reviews and providing other legal assistance to SBB.

Through a series of trials conducted by SBB, the first court judge acquitted him of the death penalty on March 24, 2024.

The decision was upheld by the judge of the appeals court on May 7, 2024.

SBB was only found guilty by the court for providing inconsistent information in the trial.

However, SBB is still allowed to return to the country. The Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh and the immigration authorities also repatriated the SBB on September 8 and handed it over to their families on September 11.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, SBB is PMI that entered Saudi Arabia illegally in 2022 via broker with a visit visa under the sponsor of a local resident to be employed as a household assistant.

Throughout 2024 to July, 25 Indonesian citizens in a number of countries, mostly in Malaysia, were free from the death penalty, either because they received a reduced sentence or were released purely.

Currently, the government is helping 155 other Indonesian citizens who are still facing the death penalty.