COLOMBO , Sri Lanka ( Reuters ) -- Humble woodcutter Mohammed Sultan Nafeek 's teenage daughter moved to Saudi Arabia to work as a housemaid to support her family after they were displaced by the 2004 tsunami . Now she is on death row , and all he can do is pray . Razeena Mohammad ( left ) and Mohammad Sultan Nafeek , parents of Rizana Nafeek . Rizana , who was 17 when she started work in Saudi Arabia , was convicted of killing a 4-month-old baby boy in her care just two weeks into her job . Nafeek says the child died accidentally , choking on milk . His daughter was sentenced to beheading in a case rights groups say underlines the vulnerability of many of the 1.5 million Sri Lankans who work abroad -- nearly 400,000 of them in Saudi Arabia alone . `` Our family was suffering hardship , and so our daughter volunteered to go and work abroad to send money home , '' Nafeek told Reuters by telephone from his modest home in Mutur in Sri Lanka 's war-torn northeast . After the December 2004 tsunami forced them from their home , the family was displaced again by renewed civil war between the state and separatist Tamil Tiger rebels . Nafeek visited Saudi Arabia with Sri Lanka 's deputy foreign minister this month in a bid to secure clemency and met with relations of the dead child 's parents but came away empty handed . Under Saudi law , a pardon is the gift of the family of the victim , and so far the parents of the dead child have refused to meet either the family or Sri Lankan officials . `` The cops told us : 'Go and pray to Allah . If you can get the forgiveness of the parents , your daughter will be free , ' `` he said . `` So I am praying all the time . '' `` If we had been able to meet the parents , we are sure they would have been willing to forgive our daughter after seeing our situation . '' The Sri Lankan government is investigating the agency that sent Rizana to work abroad when she was technically still a child but remains hopeful she will be pardoned or exonerated . `` I am fairly confident , '' said Deputy Foreign Minister Hussein Bhaila . `` We have spoken to tribal leaders of their particular tribe , we have spoken to area officials ... It is they who will now have to speak ( to the parents ) . '' `` His Excellency the President ( Mahinda Rajapaksa ) has been following this case very keenly . This is an exceptional case because of her tender age , '' he added . Rights groups accuse the government of failing to protect its expatriate workers -- one of the main sources of foreign-exchange revenues for the $ 23 billion economy -- with legal aid . They also decry Saudi Arabia 's legal system . `` This case raises many troubling questions about the treatment of children and foreigners in Saudi Arabia 's criminal-justice system , '' Human Rights Watch said in a statement issued overnight . `` International law prohibits the death penalty for crimes committed before the age of 18 . '' Saudi Arabia executed four Sri Lankans convicted of armed robbery earlier this year , and did not inform Sri Lankan authorities beforehand . Sri Lanka reinstated its own death penalty in 2004 after the murder of a high court judge , but it has been dormant since 1976 . There is no indication any of the dozens of convicted murderers , rapists and drug smugglers on death row in Sri Lanka and effectively serving life prison terms will actually be executed . E-mail to a friend . Copyright 2007 Reuters . All rights reserved.This material may not be published , broadcast , rewritten , or redistributed .
Girl convicted of killing baby in her care in Saudi Arabia when she was 17 . Girl claimed the baby died accidentally , choking on milk . Girl 's family displaced by December 2004 tsunami , and civil war in Sri Lanka .