REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The House lauded the efforts of the Indonesian Embassy and Indonesian Consulate General, which have, for years, provided defense for Indonesian convict Siti Zaenab who was finally executed in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

"Commission I on foreign affairs of the House of Representatives (DPR) expressed grave concern on the execution of Zaenab," Commission I Chairman Mahfudz Siddiq stated here on Wednesday (15/4).

Zeanab, an Indonesian migrant worker, who was sentenced to death for a murder case in Saudi Arabia, was executed on Tuesday.

Siddiq noted that the victim's family refused to pardon the Indonesian convict.

He revealed that Commission I, during its visits to the Indonesian Embassy (KBRI) and Consulate General (KJRI) a month ago, had obtained explanations regarding the case and its defense developments.

"The case is too strong, and the victim's family was determined to not provide a pardon because it was a case of sadistic murder," Siddiq affirmed.

The Saudi government and the KBRI were unable to do anything as the victim's family did not pardon the convict although the Indonesian side has offered a huge amount of compensation money, he noted.

Regarding several Indonesian citizens who are also facing death penalty abroad, Commission I urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to set up a team with the Ministry of Manpower, the Ministry of Law/Human Rights, and the Indonesian Agency for Placement and Protection of Indonesian Workers Overseas (BNP2TKI) to handle their legal cases.

"The legal cases abroad do not come under the sole preview of the Foreign Ministry. The upstream agency that dispatches the Indonesian workers should also be involved," he pointed out.

Zaenab was sentenced to death after a court found her guilty of murdering the wife of her employer in 1999.

She had been imprisoned in a Medina jail since October 5, 1999. After a series of court proceedings, the Medina Court sentenced her to death on January 8, 2001.

Saudi Arabia's law allows only the heir of the victim to pardon the guilty.

The execution was put on hold pending the only son of the victim to become an adult at the age of 13 years and make a decision.

In 2013, after he was declared an adult, the victim's son refused to pardon Zaenab, demanding that she be executed.

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