Saudi Arabia pardons 22 Filipino detainees

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia - About 22 Filipino workers who have been languishing in jails in western Saudi Arabia were given amnesty recently by the host government, the Philippine consul general in Jeddah said on Friday.

Consul General Ezzedin Tago said the detainees, all facing minor charges. He did not give details but most of the minor violations Filipinos are involved in are liquor- or sex-related.

Tago said the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs also reportedly expects more Filipino prisoners to be pardoned during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins on September 1.

He said the ministry advised the consulate to secure the travel documents of the repatriates and facilitate their journey back home.

"I’m happy with the good example and generosity shown by the Saudi government to Filipino prisoners," Tago told GMANews.TV.

Filipino diplomats and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who have been involved in rescue and relief work for distressed compatriots say Saudi authorities have actually been lenient on Filipinos amid rampant complaints of maltreatment of workers by their employers.

In mid 2007, then Consul General Pendosino N. Lomondot asked help from Saudi officials when some 200 runaway OFWs from the Eastern and Central regions, which are under the jurisdiction of the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh, sought help from the consulate.

The runaways paid a syndicate who smuggled them to Jeddah with a promise to repatriate them through the so-called “backdoor exit." When the effort failed, the runaways trooped to the consulate and demanded to be repatriated.

In a show of good will, the Saudi government agreed to repatriate not just 200 but also more than 700 mostly women adults and children, who have been stranded in the kingdom for years.

When President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo visited Saudi Arabia in May 2006, she asked King Abdullah to grant pardon to 50 Filipinos detained in various jails for minor charges. King Abdullah responded by pardoning more than 300 Pinoys.

Saudi Arabia employs more than one million skilled and unskilled Filipino workers, making it the top destination for OFWs. - Ronaldo Concha, GMANews.TV

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vietnam condemns China's 'brutal behavior' in fisher attack ---- Agence France-Presse

HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam's foreign ministry condemned on Wednesday China's "brutal behavior" during a violent attack on Vietnamese fishers in the disputed South China Sea. The 10 fishermen were reportedly beaten with iron bars and robbed of thousands of dollars' worth of fish and equipment on Sunday off the Paracel Islands -- an archipelago in the resource-rich waterway claimed by China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei. Vietnam "resolutely protests the brutal behavior of Chinese law enforcement forces against Vietnamese fishermen and fishing vessels operating in the Hoang Sa archipelago of Vietnam", foreign ministry spokesperson Vietnam Pham Thu Hang said in a statement, using the Vietnamese term for the Paracel Islands. "The above actions of Chinese law enforcement forces seriously violated Vietnam's sovereignty" over the archipelago, the statement said. Four of the Vietnamese crew were taken to hospital on Monday
Read more

Africa roads are world’s deadliest despite few cars ---- AFP

ADDIS ABABA: Africa has the fewest roads and cars of any region, and yet the largest ratio of vehicle deaths, caused by the usual suspects — unsafe habits, speeding and drinking — but also poor infrastructure, scant rescuers and old cars. As everywhere, speed, alcohol and not wearing a seat belt or helmet are among the main causes of death and injury, say experts. But in Africa, where there are 620 traffic deaths every day, these problems are compounded by bad roads, outdated vehicles, minimal prosecutions and a shortage of emergency services. A recent World Health Organization report found that Africa surpassed the rest of the world, including Southeast Asia — which recorded the most road deaths — with a record ratio of 19.5 people killed per 100,000 inhabitants in 2021. Home to only around four percent of the world’s automobiles, Africa accounted for 19 percent of road deaths last year. “What is worrying is the upward trend in Africa,” said Jean Todt, a former head of the Internati
Read more

Russia captures town after 2 years of Ukrainian resistance --- Reuters

Russian forces now control 98.5% of Luhansk, 60% of Donetsk MOSCOW: Russian troops on Wednesday took charge of the eastern Ukrainian town of Vuhledar, a bastion that had resisted intense attacks since Russia launched its full-scale assault in 2022. The advance of Moscow's forces, which control just under a fifth of Ukraine, has underlined Russia's vast superiority in men and materiel as Ukraine pleads for more weapons from the Western allies that have been supporting it. Ukraine's eastern military command said it had ordered a pullback from the hilltop coal mining town to avoid encirclement by Russian troops and "preserve personnel and military equipment". The Russian defense ministry did not mention Vuhledar in its daily battlefield report. Russian Telegram channels, however, published video of troops waving the Russian tricolor flag over shattered buildings. The town, which had a population of over 14,000 before the war, has been devastated, with Soviet-era
Read more