Following Human Rights Watch’s report highlighting the dire conditions that Ethiopian migrants have been held in in Saudi Arabia during the pandemic (see our 21 August update on Saudi Arabia on this platform), the Telegraph has revealed that the Ethiopian government has attempted to silence those stuck inside Saudi detention facilities. A leaked document submitted to the newspaper–which bears the stamp of the Ethiopian consulate in Jeddah, and which is dated 24 June 2020–warned detained Ethiopians of “legal repercussions” if they continue to upload images and videos from detention. According to the document, footage and images were causing “distress for families and the greater Ethiopian community.” The Telegraph claims that the Ethiopian government has sought to avoid excessive focus on Saudi Arabia’s detention of its nationals to avoid a diplomatic fall-out with the country, which is an important source of foreign exchange for Ethiopia. The Telegraph also revealed additional details about the inhuman conditions in these facilities (30 August 2020), reporting similar scenes to those unearthed by Human Rights Watch as well as that fact that several detainees had committee suicide. The multiple reports about Saudia Arabia’s treatment of detainees have prompted condemnation from a host of governments. The British government stated that it was “very concerned” by the reports; a spokesman for UN Secretary General, António Guterres, said that the UN was also investigating; and the IOM warned that the unhealthy, overcrowded facilities could become “breeding grounds” for fatal diseases. In response, Saudi authorities reportedly told the Telegraph that the government is “looking into the state of all official government facilities in light of the allegations.”
- Z. Zelalem and W. Brown, “Exclusive: Ethiopia Tried to Silence Its Own Citizens Stuck in Hellish Sauid Detention Centres,” The Telegraph, 3 September 2020, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/exclusive-ethiopia-tried-silence-citizens-stuck-hellish-saudi/
- Z. Zelalem and W. Brown, “International Condemnation Rains Down on Saudi Arabia After Telegraph Investigation Into Hellish Detention Centres,” The Telegraph, 1 September 2020, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/climate-and-people/international-condemnation-rains-saudi-arabia-telegraph-investigation/
- Z. Zelalem and W. Brown, “Investigation: African Migrants ‘Left to Die’ in Saudi Arabia’s Hellish Covid Detention Centres,” The Sunday Telegraph, 30 August 2020, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/climate-and-people/investigation-african-migrants-left-die-saudi-arabias-hellish/
- Global Detention Project, “Ethiopia Immigration Detention Data Page,” https://www.globaldetentionproject.org/countries/africa/ethiopia
- Global Detention Project, “Saudi Arabia Immigration Detention Data Page,” https://www.globaldetentionproject.org/countries/middle-east/saudi-arabia
