May 23 2008
Human Rights Watch challenges Saudi ruling
This Indonesian maid reportedly got gangrene after being tied up in Saudi Arabia for a month.
(Reuters photo, Source: BBC News)
The BBC reported on the decision of a Saudi court to overturn a ruling that would prosecute employers who physically abused their Indonesian maid.
The maid, Nour Miyati, allegedly suffered from gangrene after being tied up and left without food for a month in 2005, according to the report.
Her employer was originally sentenced to “35 lashes,” but the sentence was overturned and instead Miyati will just be paid $670 in damages.
Human Rights Watch is challenging the government to impose a heavier sentence. The BBC quotes them saying it “sends a dangerous message to Saudi employers that they can beat domestic workers with impunity and that victims have little hope of justice”
