WUNRN
Asian Tribune - World Institute for
Asian Studies
Asian Human Rights Commission
Saudi Arabia/Sri Lanka - Rizana Nafeek
Sentenced to Death for Murder without a Postmortem Report on Deceased Child
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By K.T.Rajasingham -
Rizana Nafeek
The newly obtained signed statement of Rizana Nafeek of Muthur, Sri Lanka,
the housemaid who is now languishing in the Death Row in Saudi Arabia has shed
new light in her case and how her case was badly handled by the Sri Lankan
Embassy Officials in Saudi Arabia, as well as by the lawyer who has been
retained on her behalf.
According
to the available information, Rizana Nafeek , retracted her confession at the
court hearing, on 3rd February 2007, and informed the court that her original
confession admitting to the killing of the child had been obtained by the
Police under duress.
Asian Tribune is now
in possession of the new statement prepared in the Tamil language by the Sri
Lanka Embassy in
The same
statement in Tamil which was approved and signed by Rizana Nafeek is given
below and also the English translation of the same. The English translation was
made by the staff of the Asian Tribune.
The
Arabic translation of the document was done by a Third Secretary of the Sri
Lanka Embassy.
When one
goes through the statement signed by Rizana Nafeek dated 2007. 01.30, at Al
Dhawadhimi Prisons, there was so many important points in favour of Rizana and
saving her from executioner’s blade, but unfortunately those points were not
taken into serious consideration.
They are
as follows:
1. “The
sub agent called Bajurdeen deceitfully changed my date of birth as 02.02.1982
and issued me a passport whereas my actual date of birth is 02.02.1988.”
She has
made an allegation that one sub agent called Bajurdeen has “deceitfully changed
my date of birth and obtained a passport stating her date of birth as 02.02.
1982.”
One
wonders whether Sri Lanka Government has taken any action in this regard.
Even it
is not too late now for the Sri Lankan Police to take appropriate action
against the sub-agent, and the recruitment agent who were involved in changing
Rizana’s date of birth and obtaining a passport and sending her to
Also,
the Sri Lankan police has to investigate how the recruitment agency has managed
to obtain a forged Birth Certificate and also the role of the Immigration
Department in issuing a Passport bearing No. N. 0331835 based on forged birth
certificate.
Asian Tribune learnt
the copy of the original passport is with the Sri Lanka Embassy in
2. “I
arrived at
Rizana
Nafeek’s statement reveals that she arrived in
A few
days after her arrival in
While
she was bottle-feeding the infant around 12.30 p.m.(on 25th May, 2005), the
baby-boy started choking, as so often happens to babies and Rizana panicked and
shouted for help, while tried to sooth the child by stroking the it’s throat,
neck and face, doing whatever she could to help him. At her shouting the mother
arrived, but by that time the baby was either unconscious or dead.
3. But
according to Rizana Nafeek statement: “When I was feeding the infant, I noticed
that the milk was oozing through the mouth and nose of the infant. I stroke the
throat of the infant gently. As the infant was seen having its eyelids closed,
I thought that it was snoozing.
She
states that , “When I was feeding the infant, I noticed that the milk was
oozing through the mouth and nose of the infant.”
According
to her version, when she was bottle feeding, “I noticed that the milk was
oozing through the mouth and nose of the infant.” This clearly reveals the
question of choking while feeding does not arise.
Asian Tribune
contacted a leading Doctor in
The
Swedish Doctor explained that there could have been a “Stop” anywhere between
the oral cavity and Esophagus, (Latin – śsophagus).( Swedish -Oesophagoes)
When
there is a ‘Stop’, the milk will not go into the stomach, but will ooze out.
This might also be a symptom, that it may be either due congenital or existence
of a tumor. Therefore it can be also assumed that when the milk the house maid
bottle-fed oozed out, the child might have already passed away.
When the
milk oozed out of the nose and mouth of the 4 month old baby, Rizana in her
statement says that “I stroke the throat of the infant gently.” When she stated,
stroking the infant’s throat, there might have been an impression, a red mark
in the infant throat due to stroking, which might have made others to come at a
wrong conclusion that Rizana must have squeezed the infant child’s throat to
death.
See those
images attached about the oral cavity, and the nasal cavity all joining the
Esophagus and once there is a ‘Stop’ in Esophagus there is a tendency for the
bottle-fed milk to ooze out through mouth and nose.
4. She
further states that the madam -, the mother of the 4 month old infant child,
“The madam came home at about 1.30 p.m. and after having seen the infant, she
assaulted me with slippers and hands and took the infant away. Blood oozed from
my nose. Thereafter police came and took me into their custody.
5. She
further states “I was assaulted at the police station too. They assaulted me
with belt and coerced me for a statement stating that I had strangled the
infant.
6. She
concludes her statement that, “In these circumstances, I under duress placed my
signature on the written paper they gave to me. They took me to another place
and asked a question, As I was virtually in a state with loss of memory and in
fear and frightened mood, I had happened to tell them that I strangled the
infant.
7. In
the name of Allah, I swear and aver that I never strangled the infant baby.
The
Dawadami Police who arrested Rizana Nafeek has threatened and intimidated her
and obtained a statement accepting that she killed the child.
But the
police have failed to take the dead infant for a postmortem to find out the
cause of the death of the infant - a serious lapse on the part of the Dawdami
Police.
The High
Court of Dhawdami it is learnt has decided on a murder case without a post
mortem report to determined the cause of death and has simply gone on the
police evidence and on the earlier statement of the accuse - Rizana Nafeek and
passed a judgement of death on 16 June 2007.
Furthermore,
it is not known whether Saudi law firm Khateb Al-Shammary who represented
Rizana in the Supreme Court took up the issue of the “postmortem”.
It was
unfortunate that Dawdami High Court and the Saudi Supreme Court have overlooked
the most important information – the cause death – the absence of a postmortem
report – the scientific evidence of the cause of death, before sentencing an
innocent teenage Muslim Girl to death.
This
statement made without any prejudice on anyone.
English
translation of the Rizana Nafeek statement made on 30 January 2007:
2007.01.30
Al Dhawadhimi Prisons,
Al Dhawadhimi.
I,
Rizana Nafeeq, - who is presently confined in Al Dhawadhimi Prisons on the
allegation of homicide - state as follows:
I have
already made a first statement to the officials of High Commission of Sri Lanka
on the above mentioned allegation.
I am
making this statement instead of the statement given to the officials of High
Commission of Sri Lanka on this allegation. I am making this statement as I am
in good mental condition.
My
address in
My actual age is 19 years old.
My date of birth is 02.02.1988.
The sub
agent called Bajurdeen deceitfully changed my date of birth as 02.02.1982 and
issued me a passport whereas my actual date of birth is 02.02.1988.
I
arrived at
As soon
as I was brought to this house, I was employed to look after this infant. I had
been amenable and maintained good rapport with the house people.
The
inadvertent incident, I could not recollect the date of the incident, happened
at about 12.30 p.m on one Sunday. The house people whosoever was not at home at
that time. In addition to the four months old infant, there were male and
female children as well. Usually, I am the one who used to feed milk to that
four month-old infant. The day of the incident too, I fed the infant with milk.
When I
was feeding the infant, I noticed that the milk was oozing through the mouth
and nose of the infant. I stroke the throat of the infant gently. As the infant
was seen having its eyelids closed, I thought that it was snoozing..
The
madam came home at about 1.30 p.m. and after having seen the infant, she
assaulted me with slippers and hands and took the infant away. Blood oozed from
my nose. Thereafter police came and took me into their custody. I was assaulted
at the police station too. They assaulted me with belt and coerced me for a
statement stating that I had strangled the infant. They intimidated me that I would
have been killed in the event I was adamant not to give a statement to the
effect that I strangled the infant and electrocuted, I would be killed.
In these
circumstances, I under duress placed my signature on the written paper they
gave to me. They took me to another place and asked a question, As I was
virtually in a state with loss of memory and in fear and frightened mood, I had
happened to tell them that I strangled the infant. In the name of Allah, I
swear and aver that I never strangled the infant.
I hereby
place my signature after having read this statement.
- Asian
Tribune -