ABHA, 27 July 2004 — An Egyptian worker won his case against the Passport Department in Asir, Okaz newspaper reported yesterday. The court ordered the department to pay SR130,000 in compensation to the Egyptian worker, Redah Hasanain, for the time that he spent in illegal detention.
The court ordered in addition that the Passport Department renew the Iqama for Hasanain. The director of the Passport Department in the region said a check had been issued in the name of the Egyptian worker and is ready for collection.
Some seven million foreigners work in the Kingdom, which has an indigenous population of about 17 million.
Minister of Labor Ghazi Al-Gosaibi on Sunday dismissed allegations of labor abuse in the Kingdom saying that a report by the New York-based Human Rights Watch was exaggerated and unbalanced.
The report released in London on July 15 alleged that foreign workers in Saudi Arabia were systematically abused and exploited.
