Filipina in UAE acquitted of murder, saved from death row

MANILA, Philippines — A Filipina charged with murder has been saved from death row in the United Arab Emirates after being acquitted by the Court of Appeals in Al Ain.

The Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi, through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), confirmed that Jennifer Dalquez was declared innocent without diyyah or payment of blood money.

"Ms. Dalquez, 30, was charged with murder for allegedly killing Mr. Alaryani. Through her counsel, she argued that she was defending herself from his attempt to rape her when the incident occurred on 7 December 2014," the DFA said in a statement released Tuesday.

Dalquez, however, was sentenced to five years imprisonment minus the days she spent in jail for stealing a mobile phone.

The Filipino worker was sentenced to the death row on May 20, 2015 for the murder of her employer but her case was appealed.

The DFA provided a lawyer for Dalquez since her case by heard by the Court of First Instance in March 2015.

"Her parents went to visit her in Al Ain in October 2015 and in March 2017, through the assistance of the DFA," the statement read.

Last April, women's group Gabriela called on President Rodrigo Duterte to save Dalquez from death row during his visit to the Middle East.

Gabriela filed a House resolution earlier this year calling on the president to seek executive clemency for Dalquez.