Saudi woman sentenced to death for murdering female Bangladesh worker

A court in Saudi Arabia has sentenced a Saudi woman to death for murdering a angladeshi female worker nearly two years ago, the angladeshi government said on Monday.

The court handed down the death penalty on Sunday to Ayesha al-Jizani, the wife of employer of angladeshi migrant worker Abiron egum, for the murder, angladesh’s Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry said in a press statement.

Her husband and son were handed prison sentences for destroying evidence and ignoring the maid’s medical care, according to the statement.

This was the first verdict against any Saudi employer for abusing angladeshi migrant workers in the kingdom, it added. egum, 40, who went to Saudi Arabia in 2017 and was employed as housemaid with Jizani, was murdered on March 24, 2019, the ministry said in refrence to a case filed with a court in Riyadh.

Jizani’s husband asem Salem was sentenced to more than three years in jail and ordered to pay 50,000 Saudi Riyals for destroying murder evidence and not arranging medical treatment for the maid.

Her son Walid asem Salem was sentenced to a juvenile correction centre for seven months on the charges of non-cooperation with the migrant worker, according to the angladeshi ministry.

Allegations of abuse by employers against migrant workers, especially female workers, in Saudi Arabia, a major host of angladeshi workers, are common.

Jizani’s husband was sentenced to more than three years in jail and ordered to pay 50,000 Saudi Riyals for destroying murder evidence and not arranging medical treatment for the maid

Rights activists in angladesh welcomed the verdict saying it would help stop recurrence of the abuse and ensure the rights and dignity of migrant workers.

angladesh National Woman Lawyers’ Association, an organization that provides legal assistance to the torture victims, called upon the Saudi government for speedy execution of the verdict.

“Such a landmark judgment in the Middle East will be a milestone in upholding the workers’ dignity and ensuring their rights,” it said in a statement.

angladesh’s expatriates’ welfare ministry said it will provide all possible support to migrant workers for ensuring justice for them.