Saudi Arabia launches new arbitrary measures against Yemeni expatriates
RIYADH, Feb. 06 (YPA) – As part of repressiv policy against the Yemeni expatriates in Saudi Arabia, human rights activists revealed on Sunday that Saudi authorities have deported more than 11,000 Yemeni expatriates during the past hours under allegations of delaying the payment of residency fees.
The activists affirmed that the deportation campaign is illegal, as it targeted thousands of workers who paid residency fees, which refutes Saudi allegations and reveals its efforts to exclude Yemeni workers in the Kingdom amid condemnations of international labor organizations.
According to activists, Yemeni expatriates in the Kingdom confirmed that the Saudi authorities have carried out a large-scale campaign over the past two weeks on expatriate workers, including Yemeni workers, and arrested and deported nearly 190,000 expatriates of various nationalities, most of them are Yemenis, as a first stage.
They pointed out that all those who were arrested were fingerprinted on a final exit and were deported.
“Such unjust and unfair campaigns are carried out for the first time target everyone who has a visa and who does not,” the activists said, adding that hundreds or even thousands of Yemenis who have been arrested and deported despite of having a visa and are committed to Saudi labor regulations and laws.
The expatriates in the Kingdom stressed that the unjust deportation campaigns against Yemeni workers are still continuing unabated in light of the complete absence of the role of the Yemeni embassy, shameful silence of the so-called Riyadh-formed Presidency Council and the government loyal to the coalition who are in the Kingdom and are aware of what Yemenis are experiencing.
The deportation campaign was met with popular discontent on social media, and activists accused the Yemeni ambassador in Riyadh, Shaya’e bin Mohsen, of ignoring what Yemeni expatriates are exposed to, from raids into their places of work and residence, in order to be deported to Yemen in light of the continuation of the war and the deterioration of living conditions.
Several international organizations have previously condemned the Saudi authorities’ deportation of Yemeni workers after confiscating their rights and property without any legal justification.
In the early of June, 2022, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) revealed that Saudi Arabia deported 5,440 Yemeni migrants during May, bringing the number of deportees to more than 29,000 Yemeni expatriates during the first five months of 2022.
The organization said in its monthly report that the Displacement Tracking Matrix recorded the return of 5,440 Yemeni migrants from Saudi Arabia during May 2022, compared to 5,898 in April 2021.
E.M