Sumiati Binti Salan Mustapa’s injuries included cuts to her lips allegedly made with scissors Indonesia has demanded an inquiry into reports that a maid working in Saudi Arabia was killed by her employers and her body dumped in a bin.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said a team had been sent to the Saudi town of Abha to investigate reports of the murder of 36-year-old Kikim Komalasari.
It comes as officials arrived in Saudi to follow up claims of torture against a second Indonesian maid.
Sumiati Binti Salan Mustapa is recovering in hospital in Medina.
Her injuries include gashes to her face and cuts to her lips, allegedly inflicted by her employers using scissors. She was also burned with an iron, officials say.
Indonesia’s president has demanded justice for the “extraordinary torture”.
Indonesian media reported on Thursday that the Saudi Arabian government had arrested the female employer of Sumiati, and apologised for her treatment.
Reports of the murder of a second maid came on Friday.
Several countries across the Middle East and Asia host millions of migrant domestic workers, ranging from 196,000 in Singapore to approximately 1.5 million in Saudi Arabia.
Whether or not they are well treated is a matter of luck rather than legislation.
Employers have huge control over them and the workers have few rights. Most have their passports taken away.
It is hard to document their treatment as they are “hidden” in people’s homes, but abuse is systemic, according to Human Rights Watch.
Traditionally, the Philippines has been a stronger advocate for its workers than the other “sender” countries, but the protest by the Indonesian president is unusually high-level – especially as it occurred during the Muslim Eid celebrations.
There has been growing tension between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia over rising fees charged by private Indonesian recruiting agencies. Saudi Arabia was even considering banning Indonesian domestic workers.
Indonesia’s labour minister Muhaimin Iskandar said Ms Komalasari’s neck had been slashed and she had severe cuts to the rest of her body.
Indonesia’s president described it as “beyond inhumane”.
He said he was encouraged by the Saudi government’s quick response.
“I’m hopeful the perpetrators will be punished according to law,” he said.
He was speaking to reporters following a cabinet meeting on the need to give greater protection to the country’s migrant workers in the Middle East – estimated to be close to one million.
Rights organisations say many foreign domestic maids in Saudi Arabia work in harsh circumstances and often suffer abuse from their employers.
The Saudi Labour Ministry has in the past acknowledged some problems, but the government also says foreign workers’ rights are protected under Islamic law.
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