COLOMBO, Sri Lanka: Rizana Nafeek, who left Sri Lanka as a teenager to work as a maid in Saudi Arabia, could be decapitated before she turns 20.
Saving her from beheading has become one of the most urgent issues in a country where nearly everyone has worked abroad or had a relative employed overseas.
Nafeek went to Saudi Arabia two years ago to work as a maid but was given the additional duty of looking after a baby boy, which she was not trained to do. The Sri Lankan Embassy says the infant died on May 22, 2005, while she was bottle-feeding him.
Nafeek, who was without legal representation at trial, allegedly confessed to her guilt in the child's death, according to the embassy, but then recanted, saying her confession was obtained under duress. Human rights groups say the boy's death appeared to be an accident.
The government has sent a delegation including Nafeek's parents and the deputy foreign minister to Saudi Arabia to plead for her life. Activists say the case underscores the vulnerability of Sri Lankans willing to work overseas.
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