Filipina domestic worker executed in Saudi Arabia for murder

Saudi Arabia has executed a Filipina domestic worker after convicting her of murder.

The 39-year-old was put to death on Tuesday, said the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs.

The department also declined to provide details of the murder she was convicted of, saying her family had requested privacy.   

"The Department regrets that it was not able to save the life of the Filipina after the Saudi Supreme Judicial Council classified her case as one in which blood money does not apply under Shariah law," it said in a statement issued on Thursday.

‘Blood money’, a legal mechanism allowed under the Shariah, is a compensation sum paid by an accused person to the relatives of a victim.

The woman had been provided with a lawyer by the Philippines government, which also sent representatives to visit her so that her family can get updates.

Saudi Arabia is ranked among the top five executioners in the world.

In 2018, the Gulf kingdom executed 143 people, according to the European-Saudi Organisation for Human Rights, said Al-Jazeera in its report.

In 2015, the kingdom executed two Indonesian maids in a week despite protests from Jakarta.

Eight Bangladeshi migrant workers were beheaded in public in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia in 2011 after they were found guilty of killing an Egyptian.

“Most capital crimes are punished by beheading, but in extreme cases, convicts face "crucifixion", which the government says is sanctioned by Islamic law.”

“Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking are all punishable by death under Saudi Arabia's strict version of Islamic law.”

Saudi Arabia is one of the top destinations for foreign workers, employing around 11 million from more than 100 countries, according to the kingdom’s Ministry of Labour and Social Development.  

At least one million Filipino workers are employed there, mostly in the household service and construction sectors.