Rizana’s remains buried in Saudi Arabia

Rizana Nafeek’s remains have been buried in Saudi Arabia after being executed in the country. The foreign affairs ministry has confirmed this after the Sri Lankan embassy in Saudi Arabia informed.

The Sri Lankan government has requested Saudi Arabia for Rizana’s remains however the Sri Lankan embassy stated that this request was not fulfilled due to Saudi Arabian law. 

Nafeek had been working in Saudi Arabia for two weeks in 2005 when the Utaibi family’s 4-month-old baby died in her care. Nafeek retracted a confession that she said was made under duress, and says that the baby died in a choking accident while drinking from a bottle.

Human Rights Watch interviews with Sri Lankan embassy officials and reporting from Arab News found serious problems with Nafeek’s access to lawyers and competent interpreters during her interrogation and trial. Nafeek had no access to legal counsel until after a court in Dawadmi sentenced her to death by beheading in 2007. Requests from the President and Human Rights organizations to halt the process fell on deaf years as she was executed this Tuesday (09).