Saudi Arabia apologises over beheading

Saudi Arabia has apologised for failing to inform Indonesia about the beheading with a sword 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. 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. Sapubi's case is the latest in a string of incidents involving Indonesian menial labourers in the Middle East. Lawmakers on Tuesday urged the government to stop sending migrant workers abroad without agreements guaranteeing their basic rights. Natalegawa and other key members of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's cabinet have faced calls to resign over the persistent abuse of Indonesian migrant workers abroad. Around 70 percent of the 1.2 million Indonesians working in Saudi Arabia are domestic helpers, according to officials. Human rights groups say workers from countries like Indonesia, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka underpin the Gulf states' economies but face extreme forms of exploitation.