JEDDAH, 28 August 2005 — Nour Miyati, the Indonesian maid who accused her sponsor of torturing her and keeping her tied up in a bathroom for a month, was released yesterday into her lawyer’s custody from the charity society where she was being cared for.
The Riyadh Municipality ordered Miyati’s release from the Nahda Women’s Charity Society under the personal guarantee of her lawyer Nasser Al-Dandani who was appointed by the Indonesian Embassy to represent her in the case against her sponsor.
Arab News reported last month on the sudden and unexplained imprisonment of Miyati while she was still being treated at the Specialist Hospital in Riyadh. She was released from jail after two days on orders from Prince Salman, the governor of Riyadh, and was handed over to the Nahda Society. The Indonesian Embassy had tried to have her released on its guarantee but the police refused. A judge then approved releasing her under her lawyer’s personal guarantee.
“We were just waiting for the order from the municipality and the processing of the papers for the release,” said Al-Dandani to Arab News.
In March, Nour Miyati was taken to a Riyadh hospital by her sponsor in critical condition. She was suffering from severe injuries which caused gangrene to her fingers, toes and part of her right foot. Some of her fingers were amputated. At first she claimed that her sponsor had tied her up for a month in a bathroom and beat her severely, injuring her eyes and knocking several of her teeth out. An investigation, however, later said that Miyati had changed her previous statements about being tortured and tied and was consequently charged for making false allegations against her sponsor.
“The embassy appreciates the efforts made to release Nour Miyati and especially thanks the Riyadh Municipality and the Nahda Society for taking care of Nour — specifically, Samira Al-Soqiyani and Hind Al-Ismaili, for their good treatment of her,” said Mohammed Sukiarto of the Indonesian Embassy.
Members of the embassy staff visited Miyati at her lawyer’s residence where she has a private room and a personal Indonesian caretaker for the duration of her stay there.
“She will be under my care and the care of my family until the conclusion of her court case,” said Al-Dandani. He says that Miyati is in good health and happy to be out and that he will take her for medical checkups.
