According to the petition, Matheel came to work in the Kingdom eight years ago as a tailor. The owner of the company where Matheel worked eventually promoted him as supervisor with 50 workers under him.

On April 14, 2009, the police raided the unit under Matheel and arrested him along with the 50 workers, alleging that they were all illegal recruits.

The petition states that the police charged Matheel with recruiting the 50 workers. It also states that all employees were recruited by the company’s personnel department and that Matheel was only supervising them and had nothing to do with their recruitment.

When contacted by a FOKASA representative, the employer, who is also Matheel’s sponsor, refused to offer any help for the release of Matheel.

“Now it has been seven months and Matheel has been detained at the deportation center without trial. His condition is very bad; his wife has requested help for him,” R. Muralidharan, president of FOKASA, told Arab News.

The petition was forwarded to the Indian Consulate by FOKASA on behalf of Matheel’s wife Naseera Beevi and it requests the consulate to investigate the reasons for Matheel’s detention and provide him legal assistance.