Two overseas Filipino workers were sent to jail when Saudi Arabia's cultural police, locally known as Muttawa, found from one of them a condom in a wallet, a migrants’ rights group said on Thursday.
Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator John Monterona said last August 31, the Muttawas raided the two OFWs’ accommodation adjacent to Riyadh’s commercial district and arbitrarily sea
rched all their personal belongings including their wallets where a condom was found on one of the wallets.
"'Geron' and 'Roy' (not their real names), who were able to speak over the phone to their kin, said they both were shocked and furious that their accommodation was raided and on that same day were sent to jail allegedly for possession of a condom and pornographic video stored in a cell phone," Monterona added.
Monterona said the two OFWs were detained in Al-hair jail also in Riyadh.
"The two OFWs were charged of prostitution, a crime punishable with six months to one year plus a hundred of lashes, if proven guilty,”he added.
The group has already relayed the case to the Philippine embassy’s Assistance to the Nationals (ATN) section.
“We were given an assurance by the Philippine embassy’s ATN official that they will closely follow this case and will recommend to the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) to hire a local lawyer to defend them in court,” Monterona added.
He said they have also asked the Philippine embassy in Riyadh to raise the issue to appropriate Saudi authorities regarding arbitrary raid on OFWs' accommodations in search for evidence.
"We appeal to the concerned authorities to respect our rights as migrant workers and human beings as we vow to strictly follow the immigration rules and respect the social norms and tradition of the host government," he said.
SOURCE: The Philippine Star
Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator John Monterona said last August 31, the Muttawas raided the two OFWs’ accommodation adjacent to Riyadh’s commercial district and arbitrarily sea
rched all their personal belongings including their wallets where a condom was found on one of the wallets.
"'Geron' and 'Roy' (not their real names), who were able to speak over the phone to their kin, said they both were shocked and furious that their accommodation was raided and on that same day were sent to jail allegedly for possession of a condom and pornographic video stored in a cell phone," Monterona added.
Monterona said the two OFWs were detained in Al-hair jail also in Riyadh.
"The two OFWs were charged of prostitution, a crime punishable with six months to one year plus a hundred of lashes, if proven guilty,”he added.
The group has already relayed the case to the Philippine embassy’s Assistance to the Nationals (ATN) section.
“We were given an assurance by the Philippine embassy’s ATN official that they will closely follow this case and will recommend to the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) to hire a local lawyer to defend them in court,” Monterona added.
He said they have also asked the Philippine embassy in Riyadh to raise the issue to appropriate Saudi authorities regarding arbitrary raid on OFWs' accommodations in search for evidence.
"We appeal to the concerned authorities to respect our rights as migrant workers and human beings as we vow to strictly follow the immigration rules and respect the social norms and tradition of the host government," he said.
SOURCE: The Philippine Star
