Senior government officials from Sri Lanka have arrived in Riyadh to negotiate a last-minute pardon for a Sri Lankan housemaid on death row.

 

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare Minister Dilan Perera, Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment Chairman Kingsley Ranawaka and former Sri Lankan Ambassador in Riyadh Ibrahim Sahib Ansar, who is currently posted in Cairo, have arrived in Riyadh on a mission to negotiate Rizana Nafeek’s release.

 

Certain Sri Lankan media reported on Monday that a pardon has now been granted to Nafeek and the ministerial delegation is currently in Riyadh to complete formalities.

 

According to informed sources, however, there is so far no indication of a pardon for Nafeek.

 

“However, we are trying our level best during the holy month of Ramadan to seek clemency for the housemaid, who had become a victim of circumstances,” one of the sources told Arab News on Monday.

 

In September last year, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa requested Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to pardon Nafeek , who was convicted of killing her Saudi employers’ four-month-old baby.

 

Arab News learned that the visiting delegation would try to meet a community leader and the infant’s father Naif Jiziyan Khalaf Al-Otaibi, who had returned to Riyadh on Sunday following his vacation.

 

A senior official from the Sri Lankan government said Perera was in Jeddah on Sunday to discuss a proposed social security scheme developed by his government.

 

The minister will also make use of this visit to negotiate a settlement with the infant’s parents in Nafeek’s case, the official said.

 

It is learned that the Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh is seeking an appointment with Riyadh Deputy Gov. Prince Sattam on Tuesday for the visiting delegation.

 

In an earlier interview with Arab News, Perera said that his government was ready to pay blood money to save Nafeek.

 

“We are aware of the complexity of Nafeek’s case and we also respect the regulations of the host country,” Perera said, pointing out that only the parents of the infant can offer a pardon to save Nafeek’s life.

 

A three-member bench at the High Court in Dawadmi, some 380 km from Riyadh, convicted Nafeek on June 16, 2007, of killing the baby. She maintains that the infant choked during feeding.

 

During an appeal made on behalf of the accused, the judgment was upheld by the Supreme Court in Riyadh on Sept. 25 last year.

 

Nafeek entered the Kingdom aged 17, below the legal recruitment age, to work as a maid using forged documents from her recruiter.

 

According to Nafeek’s passport, her date of birth was stated as Feb. 2, 1982, while the certified copy of her birth certificate indicates her actual date of birth as Feb. 4, 1988.

 

Under Islamic law, the state cannot force the bereaved family to give up their rights. The government can make reconciliation efforts, but the family must be the one to decide if Nafeek is executed or pardoned.

 

Explaining the situation in Sri Lanka, the minister said the whole country is focused on this case and is interested in saving Nafeek, Arab News reports.