Saudi Arabia’s execution of a migrant maid has sparked diplomatic tension with Indonesia at a time when the kingdom is facing international condemnation for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Saudi authorities executed Tuti Tursilawati on Monday without informing the Indonesian government, Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
It’s the third time in three years that the kingdom has executed an Indonesian citizen without informing their government in advance.
Tursilawati was charged with premeditated murder after she beat her employer’s father to death with a stick in 2010, the Jakarta Post reports. She said she was acting in self-defence and that he had been sexually abusing her.
The woman ran away after the killing and was reportedly raped by nine Saudi men before she was taken into custody. She was sentenced to death in 2011 and was one of 18 Indonesians on death row in Saudi Arabia.
“Tuti’s execution was carried out without [prior notification],” Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told reporters Tuesday. “I also summoned the Saudi ambassador in Jakarta to meet me in Bali.”
