Kuwaiti family refuses intercession to free daughter’s alleged killer
Dalal
The family of a Kuwaiti girl who was stabbed to death has said that they would never forgive her alleged Filipina killer. “We will never give up the right of our daughter, even if the United Nations Security Council holds a session on the case,” a relative was quoted as saying by the Kuwaiti daily Al Watan. The family was reacting to news that President Gloria Arroyo had sent Vice President Manuel “Noli” de Castro Jr. to Kuwait to appeal for the life of Jakatia Pawa, a Filipina facing death in Kuwait for allegedly stabbing Dalal Al Naqi, the 22-year-old daughter of her employer. De Castro will carry a letter from President Arroyo to the Emir of Kuwait “interceding for the life of Ms. Pawa,” the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on its website, local media reported. Pawa was sentenced to death in April 2008 by the Kuwaiti Criminal Court for allegedly , stabbing the Kuwaiti victim 12 times on May 14, 2007, and the verdict was upheld by the Court of Appeals in April last year. The foreign ministry said that De Castro’s intercession “is part of the continuing effort of the Philippines government to assist Pawa,” a native of Zamboanga Sibugay province who has worked for her Kuwaiti employers for over five years. Under Shariah law, Pawa’s life can be spared if the victim’s family forgives her. However, the family was quoted on Saturday as saying that they would allow her to go free. “We urge everybody to respect the laws of this country. The crime has devastated a Kuwaiti family and they are now waiting for the rightful retaliation against the person who has deprived them of their daughter,” the family said, according to Al Watan.
