“If you still remember, we sent you information last year with complaints regarding OFW Joselito Zapanta who was on death row. He had been heavily beaten and was not given food for a day or two,” John Leonard Monterona, Migrante Middle East coordinator, told the embassy in an email.

“Our OFWs are humans. Though some may have breached local laws of the host government, nonetheless their rights as human beings must be protected even if they are in jail.”

Monterona told Arab News in an email that he has received several messages from jailed OFWs asking for assistance.

One such message was from Farouq Hadji Malik Bayabao, who claimed that he and his fellow inmates had been heavily beaten by jail authorities.

“I was among jailed OFWs who were beaten by the police last July 13. This happened again on Sunday, Feb. 6, 2011. We were told to get out and then beaten outside the jail building,” Bayabao said in his text message to Monterona.

Monterona told Arab News that initially there were 48 OFWs asking for protection against illegal punishment inflicted on them by jail authorities.