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DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER MEETS AL UTAIBI TRIBAL LEADERS TO SEEK PARDON OF THE INFANTS FAMILY FOR RIZANA IN SAUDIBy Walter JayawardhanaSri Lanka’s Muslim Deputy Foreign Minister who is leading a delegation
, now visiting the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh in a bid to save the
life of a poor Sri Lankan girl condemned to death by beheading by a
Sharia court said he has already met important and powerful tribal leaders
of the Al Utaibi tribe to which the dead infant’s father belongs
to, in an attempt to obtain a pardon. “When the condemned girl’s parents visited her in a jail
she reportedly told them that she never killed the four months old infant
for which she is accused of and the baby died of choking milk while
bottle feeding,” Deputy Foreign Minister Hussein Bailah told the
Sinhalese service of the BBC, Sandeshaya in an interview from Riyadh. Bailah further said , “From the moment she saw the parents she
repeatedly said they must accompany her back home to Sri Lanka.”
But she assured them that she was being treated well by the prison authorities.
According to an alleged confession obtained by the police from the
girl under duress written in the Arabic language which she could read
or understand , she has strangled the baby to death. The sharia court
who heard the case going on that confession condemned her to die after
being beheaded in a public square. She was never asked whether the confession
was true or not nor she was explained the proceedings in a language
understood by her. She was also 17 years old at the time when the alleged
crime occurred. Hussein Bailah said since the Sri Lankan delegation arrived in Riyadh
they have been trying to meet very many people. He said he did not meet
any Saudi government officials at an official level but met some at
a personal level. He said right now the government could do little in
regard to save the life of the condemned girl and the only possible
avenue is to obtain a pardon from the deceased infant’s family.
The father of the infant Naif Jiziyan Khalif Al Otaibi has so far refused
to give pardon to the now 19 year old Rizana Nafeek for the death of
the infant. The Sri Lankan Deputy Foreign Minister said some of the people whom
he met at a personal capacity led him to the tribal leaders of the infants
father and one person was an important leader of the tribe . The Deputy Foreign Minister further said that he would now try to move
from Riyadh to Jedda, Madina and Mecca where there are important mosques
of the Islam are located. He said to meet the Imams of those mosques
no permission of the Saudi Foreign Ministry is necessary and his party
will be meeting those religious leaders in a further bid to seek their
interference in seeking a pardon from the baby’s father. Hussein Bailah said when he met the tribal leaders of Al Utaibi they
promised to discuss the matter among them and to decided to take a decision
after holding a tribal conference. The Deputy Minister said the meeting
cannot be expected to take place in a day or two and it would take some
time. |
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