Amnesty International: Qatar abuses  foreign labors under COVID-19

Amnesty International spoke with 20 Nepalese labors arrested by Qatari police, along with hundreds more from different countries.

According to the organization's official website, in mid-March, the police informed foreign labors that they would be screened for "Covid-19" and would then be returned to their whereabouts.

"Instead, they were taken to detention centers and their documents and mobile phones were confiscated, and then held in very deplorable conditions for several days, before being sent to Nepal," it said.

It revealed that the workers were held in overcrowded detentions without beds, blankets, food or water.

 "None of the men we spoke to have any explanation for why they were treated in this way, and they could not appeal against their detention or pushing them out," said Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International's Deputy Director for Global Issues. After spending days in subhuman conditions of detention, many were not even given the opportunity to collect their belongings before being put on planes to Nepal."

"It is a matter of concern that the Qatari authorities appear to have used the pandemic as a cover to commit further abuses against foreign labors, many of whom feel misled by the police," it said.

Amnesty International has seen documents in Arabic given to the arrested men, which do not indicate that they are accused of any criminal offence.

The organization called on "the Qatari authorities to compensate for the way these men were treated, and to consider allowing those expelled to return to Qatar if they wished to do so."

A.J

Source: agencies