An Indonesian activist speaking during a protest in front of the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Jakarta yesterday against the beheading of Indonesian migrant worker Muhammad Zaini Misrin, 53, on Sunday.

Zaini, who had worked as a driver in Saudi Arabia, was sentenced to death in 2008 for murdering his employer in 2004.

Indonesian organisation Migrant Care, however, said it suspected that he had been forced to plead guilty.

The Indonesian Foreign Ministry said Indonesia was shocked to learn that the execution had been carried out even though an appeal process had just started.