President appeals for sympathy of Saudi government for Sri Lankan housemaid sentenced to death

Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa has requested the King of Saudi Arabia to relax the death sentence imposed on Sri Lankan housemaid Rizana Nafeek on sympathy grounds, said presidential media sources.

The relevant request was officially forwarded to the Saudi Arabian government today, sources said.
The Supreme Court in Riyadh has endorsed the death sentence given to the Sri Lankan maid who allegedly murdered a Saudi infant in 2005.

A three-member panel of judges from the Dawadami High Court headed by Chief Justice Abdullah Al-Rosaimi found Rizana Nafeek guilty of murdering the four-month-old son of Naif Jiziyan Khalaf Al-Otaibi and sentenced her to death on June 16, 2007.

The court heard that Nafeek killed the child after she was asked to bottle-feed him by the sponsor's wife. However, the girl claimed the death occurred due to respiration of milk.

Rizana had left for employment in Saudi Arabia while being a minor, producing false documents.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch today said King Abdullah and Interior Minister Prince Naif should halt the execution of Nafeek of killing the child in her care when she was 17.

"The Saudi government should not compound one tragedy with another. It's time for Saudi Arabia to end its outlier status as one of the very few countries still executing people for crimes they are accused of committing as children." Human Rights Watch said in a statement.