Militants ask Aquino to seek 'Ramadan amnesty' for OFWs in Saudi jails

A militant migrants’ group asked President Benigno Simeon Aquino III to seek pardon for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) jailed in Saudi Arabia.

Migrante Middle East (Migrante-ME) said the Royal Family in Saudi Arabia usually grants amnesty for OFWs before or after the holy month of Ramadan, which ends September 10.

“Gaining amnesty for jailed OFWs is usually granted by the Royal Family, before or after the Ramadan. We’re hoping that President Aquino should grab this opportunity to help our compatriots in jail, here in Saudi," Migrante Middle East coordinator John Monterona said
in an article posted on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines news site.

Monterona voiced alarm over the death of prisoners in jails in Saudi Arabia due to suffocation reportedly because of the high temperature and overcrowding in jails.

He cited a newspaper report indicating that five Ethiopian prisoners died due to the heat in a Saudi jail in Jizan province.

“In Malaz (district) Central Jail, for example, more than a hundred people are being imprisoned in a five-meter-by-eight meter cell," he said.

He said the OFWs jailed in Malaz complained the temperature in their prison cells reach 44 degrees Celsius during the day. There are reportedly around 200 OFWs jailed there.

“The jailed OFWs also informed us that most of them are sleeping on the floor with only used cartons serving as their sleeping mat," he said.

Monterona said the OFWs there are asking for mattresses, blankets and medicines against colds, flu and other diseases as it becomes cold at night.

He added Philippine officials in Saudi Arabia must act swiftly and see the conditions of OFWs imprisoned in different jails in Saudi.

Meanwhile, Migrante-ME estimates there are more than 1,000 Filipino men and women, languishing in different prisons in Saudi.

“Most of them have committed petty crimes, such as violating customary laws, while others have been charge of absconding or running away from their employers due to abuses and labor malpractices," Monterona said. –VVP, GMANews.TV

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