JEDDAH, 10 November 2005 — Rizwan Abdul Nabi, an Indian worker in limbo after he was caught up in a labor dispute with his employer nearly two years ago, is still in the Kingdom while his sponsor, Khaled Al-Abbas Al-Telmesani, remains in Bahrain, facing arrest if he returns to Saudi Arabia.
According to sources at the Deputy Governorate of the Eastern Province, an arrest warrant has been issued, requiring that Al-Telmesani be remanded into custody upon his return to Saudi Arabia where he will face charges stemming from labor law violations that have left Abdul Nabi stranded in the Kingdom for nearly two years, homeless and without a source of income.
Arab News reported on this long-running dispute between Abdul Nabi and Al-Telmesani in July as the case filed by Abdul Nabi was going into its second year.
In July, Abdul Nabi’s case reached the Riyadh Appellate Court where Al-Telmesani was appealing the judgment against him issued by the Dammam Labor Court.
Al-Telmesani’s failure to appear led the judge to reschedule the hearing for November. With the court date scheduled for next week, Abdul Nabi is afraid that Al-Telmesani won’t show up again.
“I have been here for a very long time. My father in India is sick and I want to see him before he dies. Because I have had no money for almost two years, my family at home has suffered too. My younger sister and brother have been forced to withdraw from their schools because there was no money for tuition. Plans for me to marry have now fallen through and I have wasted two years of my life fighting my sponsor in the courts and there is still no end in sight.
“I am not being allowed an exit-visa unless I sign a paper that says everything I told Arab News was a lie and that I was simply trying to extort money from Al-Telmesani. He told me if I signed the paper, he would give me SR5,000 and send me home. But I refused to sign because it was not true and I could be in serious trouble if I signed,” Abdul Nabi said.
Fearing for his safety, Abdul Nabi contacted Deputy Governor of the Eastern Province Prince Jaluwi ibn Abdul Aziz ibn Musaed. The deputy governor later met Abdul Nabi twice. According to a source at the Deputy Governorate, Abdul Nabi’s case has been referred to the police, with instructions for them to ensure that Al-Telmesani attends the next hearing which is scheduled for Wednesday.
“It has now been almost two years that I have been fighting for what is rightfully mine. I have just about come full circle through the labor courts system and have still had no satisfaction. I began in Alkhobar; then the case was transferred to the Dammam Labor Court, then to Riyadh, then to the Deputy Governor’s Office, then to the Dammam Police and now back to Riyadh. I pray that Al-Telmesani shows up on Wednesday,” Abdul Nabi told Arab News.
