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Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia is detaining hundreds of migrants, mainly Ethiopians, in degrading conditions at a deportation center in Riyadh.
The migrants alleged to HRW that authorities keep them in crowded rooms for long periods. The migrants also reported that the guards beat and tortured them with rubber-coated metal rods, resulting in three deaths.
Video footage shows people crammed into tight spaces. In interviews with HRW, migrants said the COVID-19 pandemic is their biggest concern. The migrants described their precarious and unsanitary living conditions without social distancing. Some have reportedly shown symptoms of the virus.
HRW also reports that authorities have detained up to 350 migrants for months, some even for more than a year. The migrants have to share two to five bathrooms with each other and do not have enough space to sleep. In addition, the migrants claim that they do not have showers or soap.
HRW called for the immediate release of all those detained.
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