Indonesia Tweets Protest Against Beheading Case

Picture of Ruyati showed by her family

When an Indonesian migrant worker in Saudi Arabia was beheaded, trending topics on Twitter in Indonesia soon became dominated by the keywords “Saudi Arabia” and “hukum pancung” (beheading punishment). The Indonesian public got very vocal on Twitter, not only protesting the woman’s death sentence, but also criticizing the Indonesian government, which people feel was slow in dealing with this case.

This hot topic on Twitter appeared on the weekend, when Ruyati binti Sapubi, the Indonesian migrant worker in Saudi Arabia, was sentenced to death by beheading – according to the Islamic law of Qisas in Saudi – for allegedly killing her employer. The Indonesian public voiced its protest against this cruel punishment. As captured by SalingSilang, the keywords “Arab Saudi”, “hukum pancung” (beheading law), and “dubes” (ambassador) have increased significantly today.

Members of the public also protested in front of the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Jakarta – and this evening, as I write this article, some people and organisations who are concerned about this case are offering prayers for Ruyati in front of the capital’s Presidential Palace. As a result of the reaction, the Indonesian government summoned the Ambassador to Saudi Arabia for questioning about the death sentence.

People pray for Ruyati, courtesy of @AdamPantouw on Twitter

This is not the first time that the Indonesian government has been hit by criticism from the public on social media. Previously, the Indonesian president himself has voiced his frustration about slanderous comments sent through text messages or social media sites. But until now there has been no serious response from the government stemming from public opinion being voiced in cyberspace. Real action – like this rally for Ruyati – still needs to be taken for ordinary people to get the attention of the government.

Update: Al Jazeera’s Syarina Hasi-buan reports the protest from Jakarta.

Via MetroNews and SalingSilang, image credit to Media Indonesia