1323 Indians currently languishing in Saudi jails

Riyadh: As many as 1323 Indian nationals are languishing in different jails across Saudi Arabia on criminal charges ranging from petty offenses to theft and murders.

A total of 719 Indian prisoners are in the Riyadh region under the jurisdiction of the Indian embassy, whereas 604 Indians have been lodged in jails in the Western Province of the Kingdom under the jurisdiction of the Jeddah-based Indian Consulate.

In a year-end press meet, Indian Ambassador Dr. Ausaf Sayeed said that “the Indian diplomatic missions have been exerting all efforts to help Indian workers behind the bar”. In the briefing, the ambassador gave an overview of the progressively growing Indo-Saudi relations with particular reference to the achievements of the Indian embassy, which has been actively engaged in various aspects of bilateral cooperation between both nations.

Replying to a question about the Indian workers in Saudi prisons, Dr. Sayeed underlined the need for early release of prisoners jailed against petty crimes. Most Indian prisoners are migrant workers from various states who landed in Saudi jails for varying crimes. The prisoners and their families have also urged their respective state governments and the Indian Ministry of External Affairs to get them released and allow them to go back to their native places.

To this end, it is important to note that there are 386 convicted Indian prisoners in Saudi jails under the jurisdiction of the Riyadh-based Indian embassy. This is in addition to 333 Indian undertrials in various prisons and 337 Indian nationals in deportation centers under the embassy’s jurisdiction. On average, there are about 200 to 300 Indian nationals at the deportation centers in Riyadh at any given time, and such detainees are regularly deported to India in a staggered schedule.
Ambassador Dr. Sayeed said that the embassy would also seek royal clemency for Indian workers detained on petty crimes. It has been a convention in the Kingdom that Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman Bin Abdulaziz pardon some public-rights prisoners and exempt them from financial penalties on certain occasions, especially during the holy month of Ramadan.

He further pointed out that the Indian diplomatic missions also provide legal aid apart from extending all possible consular assistance to prisoners. There is a normal process of consultation and coordination on the issues of release and repatriation of Indian nationals from Saudi prisons, including in the context of bilateral agreements for Transfer of Sentenced Persons. Also, due to ignorance of local laws in many cases, the Indian migrants commit some petty crimes in Saudi Arabia and land in jail.
Ambassador Dr. Sayeed said that the Indian embassy and Consulate General of India continued providing consular services during the year 2021, despite the challenges posed by the pandemic. So far in 2021, the embassy and the consulate delivered 2,09,650 consular services, which included the issuance of 163436 passports and emergency certificates; birth and death certificates, visa and OCI cards, documents attestations, etc. The mission operates Indian Workers Resource Center (IWRC) with a 24×7 helpline.

He pointed out that a total of 2205 deaths of Indian workers were reported, and the mortal remains of 781 Indians were repatriated during 2021. The envoy further said that periodic visits are undertaken by embassy officials to jails and deportation centers

Referring to the repatriation of Indian workers during the pandemic, Dr. Sayeed said that the Indian government carried out unprecedented repatriation exercise under the Vande Bharat Mission to bring back Indians stranded abroad. “As per the embassy’s records, nearly 800,000 Indians have been repatriated from the Kingdom via the Vande Bharat Mission and charter flights since May 2020,” said the diplomat, while referring to the resumption of flights.

He said that an Air Bubble arrangement between India and Saudi Arabia has come into effect from January 1, 2022. As per this agreement, both Indian and Saudi carriers are allowed to operate flights between India and Saudi Arabia and carry certain categories of persons on such flights. According to the agreement, nationals/residents of Saudi Arabia; any Indian national or national of Nepal or Bhutan holding a valid visa of Saudi Arabia; will be allowed to travel. This follows the important development of allowing Indians to travel to Saudi Arabia since December 1.

The envoy pointed out that as of December 1, 2021, the Covaxin vaccine has been recognized by the Saudi Ministry of Health, as per its website, for entry into the Kingdom. The embassy, he said, is working closely with the Ministry of Health for mutual recognition of vaccine certificates which will then lead to eventual waiver of institutional quarantine requirements. The Indian government has also separately shared a proposal with Saudi government for the production of Covaxin in Saudi Arabia, he added. India now has eight approved vaccines. Out of these four vaccines have been indigenously developed in India (Covaxin, Covovax, Corbevax and ZyCoV-D (world’s first DNA plamid based vaccine). The remaining vaccines are Covishield, Sputnik V, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson.

Referring to the growing cooperation in the defense sector, the diplomat said that “Saudi Arabia and India are maritime neighbors and share a common perspective with respect to securing the international sea lanes in the region to ensure maintenance of the rules-based order and freedom of navigation. About 60 Indian defense industries have been introduced to the Saudi Ministry of Defense.

He further pointed out that an agreement for cooperation, between the Kingdom’s General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) and the Indian Standardization Directorate, for collaboration in standardization procedures and benchmarking for military industry and weapon procurements, is under discussions.

On the commercial front, India remained the second-largest trading partner (after China) for the first nine months of 2021 from the Saudi perspective. Saudi Arabia continues to be India’s fourth-largest trading partner after China, the US, and UAE as per the Indian perspective. For financial year 2021-22 (April-Oct), exports from India to Saudi Arabia are $5.2 billion and imports are $15.6 billion. Overall trade is $ 20.8 billion (April-Oct), as compared to overall trade of $22 billion for the complete financial year 2020-21. Also, Saudi Arabia continues to be is the 2nd largest crude sourcing destination next to Iraq for India. For financial year 2020-21, India imported $10.7bn worth of crude from Saudi Arabia, which accounts for approximately 18 percent of the total crude imports of India.

–INDIA NEWS STREAM