Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Monday wrote to King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia seeking clemency for Sri Lankan maid Rizana Nafeek. Rizana was convicted and is facing execution as an outcome of the case related to the death of an infant entrusted to her care. A three-member panel of judges from the Dawathmy High Court headed by Chief Justice Abdullah Al-Rosaimisentenced her to death.The court heard that Nafeek killed the child after she was asked to bottle-feed him by the sponsor’s wife. She was then sentenced a death penalty of beheading according to the Saudi Arabian High Court. Her family has appealed against the verdict and the Saudi Supreme Court has rejected the appeal against the death sentence.The Sri Lanka authorities, have been involved in facilitating Rizana in coping with her legal issues. Nafeek, who was 17 at that time, has maintained that the death of theinfant was an accident. She originally confessed to killing the baby, but later retracted her statement, saying it had been made under duress.The Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission called for an international campaign on Nafeek's behalf.Around 550,000 Sri Lankans live and work in oil rich Saudi Arabia, many of them as domestic helpers or drivers. They are a key source of foreign currency for Sri Lanka.In August , in yet another case a Sri Lankan maid, who fled from the Saudi alleged that her employer drove 24 nails into her body as punishment. She was subsequently treated in Sri Lanka and is still under medical attention.