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African and Asian migrant workers are being locked up in unsanitary conditions, tortured, beaten and in some cases killed in Saudi Arabia, according to new research by Human Rights Watch.
The US-based organization says it has spoken with seven Ethiopians who are imprisoned in a deportation center in Riyadh, as well as two Indians who had previously been detained in the same center.
Inside the center, detainees are beaten with rubber-coated metal bars, allegedly causing three deaths between October and November. Other interviewees said they had seen people who were seriously injured being taken out of the center and never returned.
“Saudi Arabia, one of the richest countries in the world, has no excuse for detaining migrant workers in dire conditions, in the midst of a health pandemic, for months and months,” said Nadia Hardman, refugee and migrant rights researcher. Human Rights Watch. .
“The video footage of crowded people, allegations of torture and unlawful killings are shocking, as is the apparent unwillingness of the authorities to do anything to investigate the abusive conditions and hold those responsible to account.”
Narrow rooms
The detainees told the organization that they are being held in cramped rooms with up to 350 other people.
It is impossible to sleep all at once, so they take turns lying down. There are between two and five working bathrooms and there is no access to showers or soap.
Interviewees said there is no attempt to minimize the spread of Covid-19 or to protect people who would be considered most vulnerable to it, such as older detainees or those with underlying health problems.
Although the most common nationality is Ethiopians, there are also Kenyans, Nigerians, Somalis, Ghanaians and Chadians held there. Asians, including Indians and Pakistanis, are believed to be held in separate rooms.
Accused
One of the Indian men interviewed said he had a valid residence permit and had worked as an engineer for 25 years in Saudi Arabia, but was accused of selling vegetables on the sidelines.
There are an estimated 10 million migrant workers in Saudi Arabia.
Before the coronavirus pandemic began, 10,000 Ethiopians were deported from Saudi Arabia every month, mainly for being found without valid residence permits.
Those interviewed said that they had not been given the opportunity to challenge their detention or deportation.
Ethiopians generally travel to Saudi Arabia by first crossing the sea into Yemen.
In October, The Irish Times interviewed an Ethiopian father who planned to undertake the trip. While he knew there was a risk that he would be quickly deported again, he was desperate to earn money to support his three children. “I have no way to survive here,” he said.
