Maid's death sentence commuted
From correspondents in Kuwait City | December 10, 2007
KUWAIT'S emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, agreed overnight to
commute the death sentence on a Filipina maid to life in prison
after a personal appeal by the visiting Philippine president.
"Normally I don't interfere in the judicial process. We have a
separate judicial system," Philippines presidential spokesman
Ignacio Bunye quoted the emir as saying during a meeting with
President Gloria Arroyo.
"But since you are here to personally appeal for her, I will not
sign the decree of execution. That is within my power," Mr Bunye
quoted Sheikh Sabah as telling Ms Arroyo during their brief
meeting.
Ms Arroyo arrived in Kuwait overnight on a day-long visit to the
Gulf state to urge that the death sentence passed on Marilou
Ranario, who was convicted of killing her female Kuwaiti employer,
be commuted.
Sheikh Sabah also vowed to "further reduce the penalty" when the
parties sign a forgiveness letter, said Mr Bunye in reference to an
agreement by the victim's family to forgive Ranario.
Ms Arroyo was due to leave Kuwait later today.
In 2005, Ranario was sentenced to be hanged for killing her
46-year-old female employer, who she said had insulted both her and
her country.
Philippine vice-president Noli de Castro previously met the
victim's family and sought their forgiveness in the hope of paying
"blood money" to spare Ranario's life, but the overture was
rejected.
Another Filipina maid is also on death row after Kuwait's appeals
court in September confirmed her death sentence for killing her
employers' two children early this year.
She is awaiting the final verdict of the supreme court.
Ranario's case has drawn widespread attention in the Philippines,
where the economy relies heavily on remittances from nearly eight
million Filipinos working overseas.
About 73,000 of them work in Kuwait. About 60,000 are women
employed mainly as maids and earning less than $US200 ($230) a
month on average, labour groups say.
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