MAKKAH, 5 September 2006 — In a surprise visit to detention cells at the Expatriate Monitoring Department in Makkah, the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) freed a Saudi man who had been arrested for harboring an illegal woman — his wife with whom he had five children, press reports said yesterday.
The NSHR is also calling on the Interior Ministry to review procedures relating to the iqama and sponsorship system.
According to informed sources the Saudi had lived with the woman for a number of years until a neighbor complained to authorities about her illegal status, Al-Madinah newspaper reported.
Suhail Al-Matafi, head of the Expatriate Monitoring Department, had allowed the man to make a telephone call while in detention. News of the man’s arrest reached members of the NHSR and a group led by Dr. Hussein Al-Shareef paid a surprise visit to the center.
The NSHR asked officials at the center for access to the cells to interview people inside. NSHR members listened to the detainees and managed to get an overview of their cases and the reasons they had been held there.
Having toured the center the NSHR is now calling on the Interior Ministry to review some of the Kingdom’s procedures relating to the sponsorship and iqama system.
The organization is also calling on the Interior Ministry to speed up procedures and improve conditions inside the cells and offer better medical service to people suffering from long-term illnesses such as diabetes.
Al-Shareef said that most of the detainees were there because of tedious procedures and that many people insist that they are innocent. “We noticed that the sponsors of these people are not cooperating with the authorities. We were told that most of the cases would come to an end if the sponsors cooperated with the authorities,” said Al-Shareef.
Commenting on the medical services made available to the detainees, Al-Shareef said, “There are people who suffer from diabetes and are in desperate need of medical attention. A lot of the detainees complain about the family visiting systems, the living conditions and food. Most say they end up sleeping on the floor and that there are no mattresses provided. We will send the results of our investigation to the Interior Ministry.”
Members of the NSHR team added that the air-conditioning system in the detention center was so bad that it was difficult for them to stay with the detainees for 15 minutes.
