Migrant Worker Escapes Death Penalty in Saudi, Returns to Indonesia

Jakarta - Fitra Yanti Binti Ali Mali, an Indonesian migrant worker, is heading home on April 19, 2012, after charges were dropped in which she was accused of killing her employer's son in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia. She is returning home on Garuda Indonesia's flight no. GA-981 on Thursday, the foreign ministry's information and media director, PLE Priatna, said Thursday in a statement based on information from the Indonesian consulate general in Jidda, Saudi Arabia. Fitra Yanti was jailed for almost three months before finally being released, with the assistance of the consulate general. She had been held at Yanbu prison since December 20, 2011, following the alleged murder. The consulate general had sent a team to the Yanbu prison and later held a meeting with the chairman of the Yanbu Public Prosecutor and Investigation Agency on March 5, 2012. The consulate general's staff had been told that available evidence on the murder charge was inadequate. Fitra Yanti denied killing the four-year old boy, claiming he drowned in a swimming pool. The Indonesian consulate general had been asked to become a guarantor for the release of Fitra Yanti, meaning the consulate staff had to be able to present Fitra when Yanbu authorities needed her. After being released from prison, she was taken to the consulate general's shelter on March 12, 2012. (*)