Hundreds Of Nepali Employees Imprisoned In Saudi Arabia

480 Nepali employees who are in Saudi Arabia for employment have been imprisoned on various offenses.

According to the Nepali Embassy in Saudi Arabia, 80 percent of Nepali employees now imprisoned are involved in the production, sale, and trading of alcohol and have been jailed on trafficking charges. According to the embassy, women are also in prison, but the exact number is not certain.

According to the Embassy, the Saudi Immigration Department has informed that 80 percent of those imprisoned are serving prison terms for manufacturing and smuggling alcohol. According to Navaraj Subedi, Nepalese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, many Nepali employees who go to work are imprisoned for breaking Saudi regulations.

He claims that the major reason for migrant workers going to jail is to make quick money by engaging in illicit commerce. "Many have been jailed for working against the rules," Ambassador Subedi said. They were imprisoned for breaking the law in order to make a lot of money in short amount of time. There are also some Nepali who are imprisoned for minor offenses. But, alcohol and narcotics are subjected to stringent regulations in Saudi Arabia.

Thousands of Nepali migrant workers who arrive in Saudi Arabia for work quit their company, as per the embassy

According to the embassy, thousands of employees quit their company because of the provided services, facilities, and pay.

The embassy daily receives complaints from workers about not being paid as much as the company assured, not getting leave to return home in case of emergency, working long hours, working in risky environment, breaching the contract, and the company failing to provide them with temporary residence documents (Iqama) on time. Many Nepali businesses are also closing or fleeing due to the aforementioned issues, according to the embassy.

Over 12,000 Nepali workers quit their company each year in order to seek better work.

But, according to Saudi regulations, if you run away from the linked firm without information, the service facilities that the workers are given will be terminated, and the workers who run away from the company will be illicit. Workers who have left the firm will be unable to return to their country unless they request for an exit.

According to Ambassador Subedi, the number of Nepalese leaving the company in Saudi Arabia is growing on a daily basis. He stated that the issue is being worked out with the companies and Saudi authorities. The embassy has also been working to provide departure permits to Nepalese employees who are illegally staying in Saudi Arabia. In the previous fiscal year, more than 2,000 Nepali employees had been brought back to Nepal via exit visas.

Every year, more than 5,000 Nepalese apply for exit visa, according to the embassy

According to Saudi law, if an individual do not return home within two months of acquiring an exit visa, he/she will be fined thousands of Saudi Riyals.

There is an existing law that prohibits the return of those Nepali who have been convicted of alcohol trafficking, have completed the required legal procedures, and returned to their home country after serving their sentence in Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi government grants amnesty to illegal employees, but they are forbidden to work in Saudi Arabia.

Many Nepali people who moved to foreign land for employment opportunities have been in legal troubles and even incarcerated for fighting in the workplace, consuming alcohol and rioting in public and performing immoral conduct.