MADINA: Recruitment of workers from Indonesia to the Kingdom will not stop, Linda Gumelar, Indonesian State Minister for Women's Empowerment and Child Protection, said here Thursday. Gumelar's statement came after she headed a 12-member delegation which visited Sumiati BT Salan Mustapa, the housemaid who was allegedly tortured by her sponsor, in a hospital here. The Indonesian minister stressed that her country has not stopped the travel of workers to the Kingdom at all. She expressed her confidence in the justice, fairness and integrity of the Saudi judiciary while considering the case of the housemaid. “It's just an individual incident and it should not be taken as a general case in the Saudi society,” she said. Jatut Abdullah Mansour, Indonesian Ambassador to the Kingdom, concurred with the view of the minister and valued the Saudi government's action in dealing firmly and seriously with the Saudi woman who allegedly inflicted grievous injuries on the housemaid. The ambassador confirmed that his country continues to send workers to the Kingdom. As to their most prominent demands, Mansour confirmed that the Indonesian government and people do not want anything other than justice. “We are sure justice will be served, as the Kingdom is well-known for meting out justice and upholding right.” The delegation listened to a detailed briefing on the maid's condition from doctors at King Fahd Hospital. The Indonesian minister met with the housemaid's attorney Saud Al-Hujaili and the lawyer Abdul Rahman Al-Muhammadi and discussed the mechanism for the progress of the case after the Indonesian embassy officially authorized the lawyer to represent it at the authorities concerned and to plead for the housemaid. Lawyer Saud Al-Hujaili reassured the delegation members that justice is an inevitable demand whether for Saudi nationals or others. He said the Kingdom implements the Islamic Shariah rules, which are just, and the housemaid will get her full rights. He said the case would take its course according to the regulations and that the security authorities have taken the sponsor into custody, and she is being interrogated. The case would be referred to the court soon, he said. He stressed that the laws and regulations in the Kingdom denounce using workers for other than the lawful purpose for which they came – that is, to earn a living and work for money. Answering a question by the Indonesian minister on how long the case would take, Al-Hujaili said the case might take a period between 4 and 12 months depending on the facts and developments in the court. Meanwhile, lawyer Abdul Rahman Al-Muhammadi told the delegation that the Indonesian embassy would be provided with a report on the housemaid's condition and the details of the case every 15 days. Meanwhile, a delegation from the Human Rights Commission (HRC) visited the housemaid at King Fahd Hospital. The delegation included Ibrahim Al-Nahyani, Assistant Supervisor General of the HRC branch in Makkah region; and two woman researchers Nisreen Al-Je'aid and Samar Mukhtar. The delegation also met with the doctors in the hospital and was briefed on the maid's condition. Al-Nahyani said the condition of the maid is improving. “She would remain in the hospital until her full recovery,” he said.
