REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, SEMARANG -- President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the government has successfully freed 176 Indonesians, including migrant workers, from being executed in foreign countries but 246 others remain on the death row.
"We have released 176 Indonesian citizens from the death penalty over the years. This is not a small figure because it is not easy to request a pardon for even one person," the head of state said here Sunday.
Speaking to family members of four migrant workers, who are on the death row in Saudi Arabia, at a meeting here, President Yudhoyono said the released Indonesians were generally found guilty of murder and drug cases.
The four migrant workers, whose relatives met with the president here, are Satinah from Semarang, Central Java; Tuti Tursilawati from Majalengka (West Java); Siti Zaenab from Bangkalan (East Java) and Karni from Brebes (Central Java).
Yudhoyono further said the government has been doing its best to handle the fates of 246 Indonesians who remain on the death row. "This is our tough duty but we sincerely do that for the sake of Indonesian people," he said.
In connection with the Satinah case, President Yudhoyono said he has sent a letter to King Abdullah, requesting his pardon for her. The letter was brought by former Religious Affairs Minister Maftuh Basyuni.
Satinah, 40, was on the brink of execution after the Saudi Arabian courts found her guilty of killing her employer Nura al-Gharib in the Gaseem area in early 2009 and stealing her employer's money.
She has been jailed since 2009 and will be executed on April 3, 2014, unless the requested diyat of 7.5 million riyal, which is equal to about Rp21 billion, can be paid.
President Yudhoyono said the execution of Satinah has repeatedly been delayed since 2011 as a result of three letters that the Indonesian government sent to the Saudi authorities.
"We keep making an effort with a hope that the pardon is given. The negotiation on the payment of diyat (blood money paid to the victim's heirs) is still on the way," he said.
The government was also doing its best to free Siti Zaenab, Tuti Tursilawati and Karni from the death row in Saudi Arabia by seeking pardon for them.
"It is my obligation as a leader of this nation to appeal for the release of my people from death penalty," President Yudhoyono said.
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