A team from the society paid a visit to the department’s deportation section on Wednesday after it had received a number of complaints from foreign detainees alleging that they had been kept there for many months.

“We are certain that the delay in the deportation of these foreigners was mainly due to the fact that either their sponsors refused to come to the passport department to complete necessary paperwork or their consulates were late in issuing them with travel documents,” NSHR member Maatouq Al-Sharif told Arab News. He said the majority of deportees were convinced that the Passport Department was not responsible for their long detention, especially as they were not wanted for any other crimes.

“The foreigners were detained either for various labor issues including disputes with their sponsors or violation of iqama rules,” he said. He added that they were happy to see a consensus among passport police and detainees on the reasons for the delays.

Al-Sharif urged authorities to find quick solutions to such problems in a manner that would reflect Islamic views on the issue of human rights and asked embassies and consulates to expedite the issuance of travel documents for detained citizens so they could leave for home as quickly as possible.