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Another Pinay's death sentence upheld
in Kuwait
11/27/2007 | 07:40 PM

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KUWAIT CITY - A Kuwaiti appeals court
upheld the death sentence of a
Filipino maid Tuesday convicted of
murdering the 7 year-old son of her
employer, her lawyer said.

Abdul-Majid Khraibet said the decision
against his client was final but did
not provide the reasoning behind the
court's ruling, which is not usually
released the same day.

In July, a criminal court found May
Membrini, 25, guilty of slitting the
throat of Salem al-Otaibi with a
kitchen knife and sentenced her to
death. The court also said she
repeatedly stabbed the boy's brother,
Abdullah, 11, and sister, Hajar, 18,
before they managed to escape the
attack, which took place at their home
in January.

A lower appeals court upheld the
conviction and death sentence in
September.

Membrini's lawyer said his client
suffers from paranoia and claimed the
boy's mother had threatened to harm
her before the deadly attack.

Some 550,000 domestic workers from
Asian countries live in this small oil-
rich emirate in the Gulf with a
population of over 3 million.
Complaints of nonpayment of salaries
and physical abuse are common. - AP

Timeline: Marilou Ranario case
11/27/2007 | 08:05 PM

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September 27, 2005: The Department of
Foreign Affairs (DFA) sent a legal
team to Kuwait to assist Marilou
Ranario, a Filipina domestic helper
charged with killing her Kuwaiti
employer on January 10, 2005.

Ranario allegedly stabbed her employer
to death, but details on the incident
are sketchy; news reports mentioned
that she retaliated for the "insults"
heaped on "her people".

September 28, 2005: Ranario,
represented by two Kuwaiti lawyers
hired by the Philippine Embassy for
her defense, was sentenced by the
Criminal Court of First Instance of
Kuwait to die by hanging.

DFA claims that the defense
immediately filed for an appeal after
they received the conviction; embassy
officials have been visiting Ranario
every month since her detention; they
have also been negotiating with the
family of the slain Kuwaiti to accept
blood money in return for the
Ranario's life.

January 14, 2006: A hearing was held
on the appeal.

January 16, 2006: Mr. Rosario Ranario,
Marilou's father, was formally
informed of the conviction of his
daughter and the appeal.

January 23, 2006: President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo instructed the DFA to
look into Ranario's plight
and "exhaust all diplomatic and legal
means to save her life."

January 31, 2006: Mrs. Encarnacion L.
Ranario, mother of Marilou, met with
DFA officials on the arrangements to
visit her daughter in Kuwait along
with her husband Rosario.

March 6, 2006: Vice President Noli De
Castro successfully obtained the
assurance of Kuwair's new Emir, Sheik
Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, that
he will do his best to save the life
Marilou Ranario.

De Castro flew to Kuwait as a Special
Envoy of the President to send the
Filipinos' condolences on the passing
of Emir Sheik Jaber Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah,
to congratulate the new emir, and to
appeal Ranario's case.

April 2006: During the courtesy call
of the members of the National
Assembly of the State of Kuwait headed
by Hon. Abdul Wahed Al-Awadi, de
Castro relayed to them the Philippine
diplomatic request for clemency for
OFW Marilou Ranario.

April 2006: Marilou's parents visited
her at the Sulaibiya Central Jail in
Kuwait.

June 1, 2006: Ranario's family and
Migrante International members
picketed the DFA to condemn what they
described as government's "inaction"
on her case.

February 17, 2007: The Kuwaiti
Appellate Court rejected Ranario's
appeal and upheld the death sentence
against her.

February 22, 2007: Ranario's family
and Migrante again held a rally in
front of the DFA.

March 2007: DFA Usec. Esteban Conejos
Jr. visited Ranario in jail.

Conejos said they are already working
on the appeal to the Court of
Cassation, Kuwait's highest court.

May 29, 2007: Migrante held another
rally in front of the DFA.

June 14, 2007: In an interview with
GMA-7, Wilfreda Ranario, Marilou's
sister, expressed fear for the life of
her sister. A day earlier, Rey Cortez,
also an OFW, was executed in Saudi
Arabia.

June 19, 2007: Migrante took relatives
of Marilou Ranario to the DFA to call
attention to her appeal.

October 31, 2007: Migrante launched an
online petition addressed to Kuwait’s
Amir "to spare the life" of Ranario.

November 7, 2007: In a dialog at the
St. Peter Parish in Quezon City,
Rosario Ranario, Marilou's father,
asked Philippine government officials
if they can get Marilou out of death
row. Atty. Paulo Sarep of the Office
of the Undersecretary for Migrant
Workers’ Affairs of the Department of
Foreign Affairs reportedly said that
there is no assurance that Marilou
will be saved.

November 13, 2007: Filipino groups in
Japan and Hong Kong staged
simultaneous protest marches and
pressed for clemency for Ranario.

November 27, 2007: Kuwait’s Court of
Cassation affirmed the death sentence
on Ranario. Vice President Noli De
Castro said President Arroyo has
drafted a letter for the Amir of
Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad, seeking
clemency for Ranario.

Sources: Department of Foreign
Affairs, GMA News, GMANews.tv,
Bulatlat.com, Philippine Daily
Inquirer, Philippine Star, Migrante

Videos about the case of the Pilipina in Kuwait:

http://www.gmanews. tv/video/ 14543/QTV- Migrante- holds-protest- action-
for-Marilou- Ranario

http://www.gmanews. tv/video/ 12221/Death- sentence- anniversary- of-OFW-
Marilou-Ranario- marked

http://www.gmanews. tv/video/ 14778/Saksi- DFA-still- hoping-for-
reprieve-in- Ranario-judgment

http://www.gmanews. tv/video/ 14757/Death- by-hanging- ordered-by- Kuwait-
court-vs-Ranario

http://www.gmanews. tv/video/ 14733/Verdict- on-Ranario- expected- Tuesday

http://www.gmanews. tv/video/ 14703/Migrante- holds-vigil- for-convicted-
OFW-Marilou- Ranario

http://www.gmanews. tv/video/ 14700/Migrante- holds-vigil- for-Ranario-
verdict-expected- Tuesday

Thanks for posting BlueAngel. I can't open videos. This is a tragedy....maayo pay magpuyo na lang sa ato- safe pa bisan gamay  ra ug sweldo. My sister has an helper who is 20 years in service na with a very good salary but she likes to work to Saudi for triple monthly income daw.  Money is a tempting devil. But now.....she is still there.

Filipina's death sentence upheld
KUWAIT CITY -- Kuwait's supreme court yesterday confirmed the death sentence handed down on a Filipina maid convicted of murdering her employer.

The decision by the Cassation Court to uphold the ruling against Marilou Ranario is final and cannot be appealed.

"Sad news," was how Vice President Noli de Castro prefaced his announcement of the court ruling at a press conference in Manila yesterday.

Her fate is now in the hands of the ruler of the oil-rich emirate, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, who will decide whether or not to sign the order for Ranario to be hanged.

Ranario was sentenced to death in September 2005 for killing her 46-year-old female employer over salary disputes and maltreatment.

De Castro said he would go to Kuwait next week to personally hand over to the emir President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's appeal seeking clemency or at least the commutation of Ranario's sentence.

"If we need to kneel before the emir, we will do so in exchange for Ranario's life," said De Castro, who described the emir as someone who is "close to Filipinos."

At the same time, he said four of the five relatives of the victim have given their forgiveness (tanazul) and accepted the "blood money" (dia). Under Islamic law, a killer can pay "blood money" to the victim's family to avoid execution.

Ranario, a teacher who left her two children (ages 11 and 13) in Surigao Del Norte in December 2003 to work as a domestic helper in Kuwait, alleged that her boss insulted her and people from the Philippines.

"new updates of the case"

Thanks God,hindi na bibitayin ang fellow pinay!

http://www.gmanews.tv/video/15316/Emir-grants-Arroyo-plea-to -spare-life-of-Marilou-Ranario

Arroyo pledges scholarship to Ranario's children
12/11/2007 | 07:44 PM

Email this | Email the Editor | Print | Digg this | Add to del.icio.us President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo pledged on Tuesday a scholarship grant for the children of convicted Filipino worker Marilou Ranario in Kuwait.

Ranario’s parents, Rosario and Encarnacion, and her children, Raffy and Roselle, were brought to Malacanang Palace on Tuesday to personally thank Mrs Arroyo for making a side trip to Kuwait on Sunday and pleading to the Kuwait Amir to save Marilou from death by hanging by commuting her sentence to life imprisonment.

Mrs. Arroyo also asked the Department of Labor and Employment and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration to look for a job for Ranario’s father.

The Ranario family expressed gratitude to the President for all the government’s help and expressed hope that Marilou would soon be released from prison and join them in the Philippines.

Ranario, a school teacher from Surigao del Norte who went to Kuwait in December 2003 to work as a domestic helper, was condemned to die by hanging for killing her lady employer in January 2005.

The President told Ranario’s family that the Kuwait amir promised to further reduce the life sentence upon submission of the tanazuls (affidavits of forgiveness) from the immediate members of her employer’s family.

The Department of Foreign Affairs had said the government has already secured four of the five tanazuls from the family of the victim. The Philippine embassy has been working to remove the victim’s estranged husband from the list since they have long been separated.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos Jr. reminded the Ranario family of the Amir’s commitment to further commute Marilou’s sentence once the remaining relatives of Najat Mahmoud Faraj Mobarak had signed the affidavit of forgiveness.

He asked the Ranario family to be patient and to take one step at a time as they await further developments on Marilou’s case. He said they should be thankful for the commutation of her death verdict to life imprisonment and continue to pray for the best.

Ranario was found guilty of stabbing to death her Kuwaiti employer on Jan.11, 2005, for alleged maltreating her, including humiliating and insulting her in the presence of friends.

The Court of First Instance, Criminal Circuit, convicted Ranario of murder and sentenced her to death by hanging on Sept. 28, 2005. The appeals court upheld the lower court’s sentence last February.

The case was elevated to the Court of Cassation or the Supreme Court of Kuwait, which also affirmed the death penalty last November 27. This gave the Amir two to three months to decide on whether or not to sign the death warrant of Ranario.

During a brief meeting with President Arroyo last Sunday, the Amir said he would not sign the death verdict and even promised to reduce the prison term if the requirements on tanazul and blood money are satisfied. - GMANews.TV