A spokesperson for the UN has said the organization is “deeply concerned about the troubling images of Ethiopian migrants detained in Saudi Arabia, in apparently inhumane conditions,” The Telegraph reports.
Cell phone images sent to the newspaper from within one of the detention centers show dozens of men lying in cramped rooms with barred windows, with raw sewage seeping into the areas where the migrants both sleep and eat. Some of the migrants report not having been outdoors for five months, ever since they were apprehended by Saudi authorities seeking to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
In its response, the Saudi government said it was “looking into the state of all official government facilities in light of the allegations.” A government spokesperson added that there are believed to be around 20 thousand Ethiopian immigrants in Saudi Arabia, who reached the country via Yemen, and that Ethiopia is uncooperative regarding their repatriation.
“Sadly, the Ethiopian authorities have refused their re-entry under the claim of not being able to provide adequate quarantine facilities upon their arrival,” the spokesperson said.