Protesters stage a demonstration outside the UN headquarters in New York against a Saudi Arabian death sentence for a Sri Lankan maid accused of adultery (Getty Images)
ESAT News (September 27, 2016)
Saudi Arabia has executed an Ethiopian woman reportedly convicted of killing a Saudi girl, AFP reported on Monday.
Zamzam Abdullah Boric allegedly killed a seven-year-old girl in the bathroom, AFP quoted the Saudi interior ministry as saying.
The motive behind the murder was not clear. Boric’s age and profession were not disclosed, the report said.
Fleeing economic hardshaip and political persecution, thousands of Ethiopians go to Saudi Arabia and work as domestic helpers.
Ethiopians are among millions of expatriates who work in Saudi Arabia, often as domestic helpers. The kingdom has a long history of executions of foreign workers, often accused of killing their employers.
In December 2013, Saudi Arabia sentenced to death an Ethiopian woman accused of killing the six-year-old daughter of her employer. The 26-year-old woman, who worked as a housemaid, was arrested shortly after killing the girl.
The woman admitted to murdering the child by slitting her throat with a kitchen knife. She said she killed the girl because her employer allegedly mistreated her.
In several cases, domestic workers have complained of being abused by their employers and being falsely accused of crimes.
Saudi Arabia has one of the highest rates of executions worldwide. Capital punishment is often carried out by public beheadings.
At least 124 people have been executed in Saudi Arabia this year, according to an AFP’s tally. In 2015, at least 158 people were killed in the country, according to rights groups.