JEDDAH — Dozens of migrant workers were expelled by the Qatari authorities after telling them they were being taken to be tested for coronavirus, the Amnesty International said on Wednesday. The UK-based international human rights body has said that it made such a conclusion based on its interview with 20 men from Nepal who were rounded up by Qatari police, alongside hundreds of others, in March. The workers were kept in "appalling conditions" in detention centers for several days before being sent to Nepal. They were apprehended whilst away from their accommodation, carrying out errands or shopping for groceries. Amnesty said all the workers had left Qatar without receiving salaries owed or end-of-service benefits. "None of the men we spoke to had received any explanation for why they were treated this way, nor were they able to challenge their detention or expulsion. After spending days in inhumane detention conditions, many were not even given the chance to collect their belongings before they were put on planes to Nepal," said Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International's Deputy Director of Global Issues. "It is disturbing that the Qatari authorities appear to have used the pandemic as a smokescreen for further abuses against migrant workers, many of whom feel police misled them by saying that they were to be ‘tested'. COVID-19 is no excuse for arbitrarily rounding people up. "The authorities must provide reparations for the way that these men have been treated, and consider allowing those who have been expelled to return to Qatar if they so wish. The men's employers must also urgently pay the salary and employment benefits they are owed." — Agencies
