The Indonesian Ministry Of Foreign Affairs Has Successfully Released Indonesian Migrant Workers Who Are Threatened With The Death Penalty In Saudi Arabia

Repatriation and handover of SSB to the family. (Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs RI)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has succeeded in releasing and bringing home problematic Indonesian migrant workers (PMI-B) who are threatened with the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, to be handed back to their families.

"On September 11, 2024, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially handed over PMI-B on behalf of SBB to families in Jember, East Java," wrote the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement on September 12.

"SBB is PMI which was previously the main suspect in the murder and was threatened with the death penalty by the Saudi Arabian court in the Riyadh area," the ministry continued.

The ministry further explained that since receiving information on the case for the first time in September 2023, the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh has coordinated with the police, prosecutors, and courts at the first level.

Internally, the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh formed an advocacy team consisting of diplomats, lawyers, and translators to conduct legal studies, collect evidence, draw up defense notes, and provide trial assistance.

"Within a period of eleven months, the Team has 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," said the ministry.

Through a series of trials, the First Court Judge acquitted Sdri. SBB of the death penalty on March 24, 2024. The verdict was later upheld by the Court of Appeal Judge on May 7, 2024. SBB was found guilty of inconsistent statements with a year-long sentence.

After completing the trial, the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh through coordination with the Immigration Office has repatriated the person concerned on September 8, 2024 to the country, before finally giving up officially to the family on September 11.

"SBB is a PMI that entered Saudi Arabia illegally in 2022 through a broker with a visit visa with a sponsor of Saudi Arabian citizens and was employed as a household administrator," the ministry said.

It is known, throughout 2024 (as of July 2024), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has released 25 Indonesian citizens from the threat of the death penalty (pure freedom or imprisonment), the majority of whom are in Malaysia, up from the previous year as many as 19 Indonesian citizens. Currently, the Indonesian government is handling 155 Indonesian citizens in danger of the death penalty.