RIYADH — Saudi Arabia executed an Indonesian domestic worker Thursday just days after beheading another woman from that country, prompting the Indonesian foreign ministry to summon the kingdom’s ambassador, Jakarta said.
Karni binti Medi Tarsim, 37, was convicted of murdering a 4-year-old girl in 2012, according to a statement from the Indonesian foreign ministry.
Her execution in Yanbu, western Saudi Arabia, came two days after another Indonesian helper, Siti Zainab, was beheaded for murder.
In both cases, Jakarta expressed anger that it was not given advance notice of the executions.
Indonesia’s anger at the executions comes despite the fact that Jakarta is due to execute several foreign drug convicts in the near future, in the face of mounting international criticism.
Saudi Arabia has long been a major destination for Indonesian workers, but authorities placed a moratorium on sending new helpers to the country in 2011 after the beheading of a maid.
Drug trafficking, rape, murder, apostasy and armed robbery are all punishable by death under the kingdom’s strict version of Islamic sharia law. Amnesty International has decried a “macabre spike” in Saudi executions this year.
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