SAUDI AMBASSADOR AL ALI IN
SRI LANKA TELLS LAK MAWA DIYANIYO HE WOULD DO EVERYTHING TO SAVE RIZANA
By Walter Jayawardhana
Saudi Arabian Ambassador in Colombo Muhammad Mahmud Al-Ali, has told
representatives of Lakmawa Diyaniyo organization that he would do everything
possible to save the life of Rizana Nafeek , a teenaged Sri Lankan girl
who is condemned to death and languishing in a jail of the desert kingdom.
Lakmava Diyaniyo (Daughters of Mother Lanka) organization who carried
a petition of 100,000 signatures in a procession to the Saudi Arabian
embassy in Sri Lanka said they were happy about the positive reaction
shown by the Saudi ambassador regarding saving Rizana Nafeek who went
to Saudi Arabia to provide a decent house for her family but ultimately
ended up being condemned to be beheaded.
Posia Thasi Hasan, President of the Lakmawa Diyaniyo said that they
were touched by the ambassador’s benevolence.
She said letters handed over to the ambassador included requests to
the government as well as to the dead infants parents to save the life
of Rizana (19) who was a minor of 17 when the unfortunate death of an
infant of 4 months occurred. Apparently an accidental death by chocking
milk due to the
inexperience of the girl who babysat ,but she was sentenced to death
by a panel of sharia judges who did neither provide an interpreter and
legal representation nor asked her whether she understood the Arabic
language confession to which she put her signature under police duress
during the trial. Three officials of the Lakmawa Diyaniyo were allowed
to come inside the embassy and handover the petition and other documents
to the ambassador.
The delegation came to the embassy in a massive procession of Sri Lankan
women of different walks of life and different ethnic communities.
The procession started from the precincts of Dawatagaha Mosque and
housewives, young working girls, university and high school students
etc. marched in the procession. Madurangani Koswatte, the Secretary
of the organization handed over the massive petition to the ambassador.
Ambassador Al Ali said it will be sent to the Foreign Minstry to be
sent to the proper authorities. The ambassador promised the delegation
that he would do everything to save her on humanitarian grounds.
An appeal financed by the Hong Kong based Asian Human Rights Commission
against the sentence is under review . She was sentenced to death on
June 16.
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