JEDDAH: An Indian pharmacist who has been engaged in a legal battle with his employer for two years said he would approach the National Society for Human Rights to mobilize support. The pharmacist has accused his employer of applying delaying tactics to deny him his rights.
The Jeddah High Court issued a verdict in favor of Keethadathil Mustafa, who is also a writer, last June asking his employer to pay SR72,326 in compensation within a month.
“But the sponsor appealed against the verdict two months later, raising false allegations against me,” Mustafa said.
He said his sponsor had not allowed him to go on vacation to India for the last five and half years.
“My iqama expired eight months ago and the sponsor did not help me renew it,” he said. “He also did not help me renew my pharmacist’s license. My passport, which expired last May, is with the sponsor.”
He said since he filed the case at the Labor Court in August 2007, the sponsor did not appear for two of the scheduled hearings.
“He was then arraigned for a third sitting on Sept. 5, 2007, when he did not make any complaints against me. Later he fabricated false allegations that were rejected by the Jeddah court,” Mustafa said. “The sponsor has now presented false allegations at the high court in order to delay my rights.”
Mustafa, a former employee of Al-Sharq Pharmacy, lives in Jeddah with his wife and three children.
The long delay in getting justice has disappointed Mustafa.
“I won the court verdict after a legal battle of 13 months,” he said. “The sponsor appealed against the verdict at the Supreme Judicial Council and it took another 10 months for the Riyadh court to set a date for hearing.”
The highest court has set the next hearing for January 2010 when Mustafa will be required to respond to the allegations against him.
“The sponsor is unnecessarily delaying my rights. His agent threatened me that he could go on stretching the case for years. But I told him I will not back down until I receive my full rights,” he said.
