Saudi Arabia has apologised for failing to inform Indonesia about the beheading of a maid convicted of murdering her Saudi employer, Jakarta said Wednesday. The apology came during a meeting between Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa and Saudi Ambassador Abdurrahman bin Mohammed Al-Khayyat, a foreign ministry spokesman said. “The ambassador apologised and regretted the situation and said that such a thing wouldn’t happen again in future,” said spokesman Michael Tene.
Natalegawa also handed the ambassador a letter of protest to his Saudi counterpart, Tene said. Indonesia earlier this week recalled its ambassador to Riyadh for consultations as lawmakers demanded a strong response to the execution, which was carried out with a sword. Indonesian migrant worker Ruyati binti Sapubi, 54, was executed on Saturday after she was convicted of murdering her Saudi employer, Khairiya bint Hamid Mijlid, with a meat cleaver. The maid carried out the killing after she was denied permission to leave the kingdom and return to her family in Indonesia, according to officials in Jakarta.
