14 Indonesians face death sentences in Saudi Arabia

The Jakarta Post ,  Surabaya   |  Sat, 04/25/2009

As many as 14 Indonesians are facing death sentence from Saudi Arabia courts for alleged involvements in several murder cases.

Indonesian General Consul for Saudi Arabia Gatot Abdullah Manshur said as quoted by Antara state news agency Saturday that the defendants would be given legal assistance from the Indonesian government.

"The embassy will give legal assistance thus helping them to get lighter sentences," he said during a public campaign on citizens protection in Surabaya.

Gatot said the Saudi Arabian authorities deported 24, 020 Indonesians whose living permits expired in 2008, 5,890 of which came from East Java and most of them worked as house maids.

A year earlier, the administration deported 24,834 citizens, 7, 382 of them were from East Java. (ewd)