"A Lonely Beheading"

                        A woman worker was sentenced to a beheading in Saudi Arabia for an
                        alleged killing of employer.

                        Arrested, put to trial, and then beheaded in a foreign country. This was the grim fate that has
                        befallen to Sulikah Kafiran aged 30, a woman worker from Malang, East Java, in Mecca.
                        The more tragical event was that she faced the deadly trial process alone by herself. Her terrible
                        fate has never stimulated any public interest, let alone receiving symphaty. The ordeal of Sulikah
                        was a lot worse compared to Sarah Balabagan and Flor Contemplacion, a house-maid from the
                        Philipines who was sentenced to death in Uni Arab Emirates and Singapore two years ago.

                        The execution was carried out in Mecca, Friday two weeks ago, as reported by the media in the
                        country. She was made to kneel and was beheaded by a sword.
 
                        What actually was the sin of Sulikah, when was the trial and the sentencing, all of which are still
                        not clear. The Saudi Arabia media only mentioned that Sulikah - written Sulaita - was beheaded
                        after the Court of Riyadh sentenced her to death. It was mentioned that Sulikah was proven to
                        have killed her employer by using an axe.

                        In the event that Sulikah was arrested by the police for the charge of killing her employer - the
                        employer name also was not known. Why and how Sulikah committed the killing? This is also
                        still blurred. Sulikah was put to women prison in Mecca. She sent letter to her parent, telling
                        them that she was very lonely.and frightened. Her parents were shocked. But what could they
                        do except reporting this to PT Andromeda.

                        Still according to Jamal Azis, later on he made contact with Andromeda branch office in Saudi
                        Arabia for the effort that Sulikah to deny all charges by the judges. However, Jamal says, during
                        the trial Sulikah admitted the killing. Death penalty was given. While waiting for the execution
                        day, Sulikah was put back into a women prison. Until the end of her days, Sulikah anguish  never
                        caught the attention of the public in Indonesia. Could it be because not many people knew or just
                        wouldn’t care?

                        The fate of Sulikah - the second woman beheaded in Saudi Arabia along with another 110
                        condemned women this year - was not as lucky as Sarah Balabagan’s. It was through the
                        intervention of the government and the people of the Philipines that Sarah, 16, escaped from the
                        firing squad of Uni Arab Emirates. In exchange, Sarah, who was sentenced to death on 16
                        September 1995, allegedly to have killed her employer was required to pay "blood money"
                        (compensation money approved by the family of the deceased) of Rp 92.250.000. The blood
                        money was provided by a Filipino businessman.

                        Compared to Flor Contemplacion, the grim fate of Sulikah was a lot worse. Flor, 42, perhaps
                        would still make her feel proud because her case received proper attention from the government
                        and the people of the Philipines, although she was still to carry out the death penalty by hanging
                        as the Government of Singapore had sentenced her on 17 March 1995 for a double killing.

HOME