Scrap sponsorship system in Saudi, says NSHR

[email protected] (Arab News)
April 23, 2013
Riyadh, Apr 23: The National Society for Human Rights has called for scrapping the sponsorship (kafeel) system in the Kingdom and limiting the relationship between the employer and the worker to the contract only. This means the worker can change his employer once his contract is terminated.

Mufleh Al-Qahtani, president of NSHR, said in his report to the regular meeting of the society that the inspection campaign by the Labor Ministry created disturbance in the labor market. He said the campaign came at a time when there are not enough detention centers for the illegal workers and the available ones don't meet the requirements of human rights.

NSHR member Abdul Rahman Al-Haijan said: “There should be amendment to the ministry's by-law to prevent it from entering any company without a prior notice,” Al-Haijan said.

“Some activities, establishments and services closed down completely,” Al-Qahtani said, adding: “We received complaints in this regard and we visited some of the affected projects in Riyadh.”

He said some of the positive aspects of the decision include regulating the labor market, reducing the security and social danger by correcting the expatriates' situations, allowing expatriates who did not get their iqama renewed to shift the sponsorship to another employer without the approval of the previous employer and creating more jobs for Saudis.

“But the sudden enforcement of the decision will result in increase in the manpower cost which will, of course, increase prices. It will also delay the deadlines for infrastructure projects. The ministry did not give enough time for companies before conducting its campaign.”

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News Network
December 15,2025

Mangaluru police have arrested a 27-year-old NRI on his return from Saudi Arabia in connection with an Instagram post allegedly containing derogatory and provocative remarks about the Hindu religion, officials said on Monday.

The accused, Abdul Khader Nehad, a resident of Ulaibettu in Mangaluru, was working in Saudi Arabia when the post was uploaded, police said.

A suo motu case was registered at the Bajpe police station on October 11 after an allegedly offensive post circulated from the Instagram account ‘team_sdpi_2025’. Police said the content was flagged for being provocative and derogatory in nature.

During the investigation, technical analysis traced the Instagram post to Nehad, who was residing abroad at the time, a senior police officer said. Based on these findings, a Look Out Circular (LOC) was issued against him.

On December 14, Nehad arrived from Saudi Arabia at Calicut International Airport in Kerala, where he was taken into custody on arrival. Police said further investigation is underway.

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