The Prosecutor-General’s Office asks people who have become victims of forced labor exploitation in Saudi Arabia to apply to it.
“It is a question of three local employment agencies, namely Jamol-2012, Imkon-215 and Abdukarim,” Jamshed Mirzokhonzoda, an official with the Prosecutor-General’s Office, told Asia-Plus in an interview Monday afternoon.
According to him, investigation into activities of those employment agencies is under way.
“To find out the exact number of Tajik nationals who were sent abroad by Jamol-2012, Imkon-215 and Abdukarim we have applied to law enforcement agencies of other countries and we are currently waiting for reply from them,” the prosecutor said.
“The Prosecutor-General’s Office has launched a hotline for victims of forced labor exploitation: (+992 37) 235 11 11,” Mirzokhonzoda added.
Recall, the Prosecutor-General’s Office in September last year instituted criminal proceedings against three local employment agencies – Jamol-2012, Imkon-2015 and Abdulkarim – involved in sending workers to Saudi Arabia, where Tajik labor migrants have faced exploitation.
According to the Prosecutor-General’s Office, the mentioned employment agencies have sent several Tajik nationals to Saudi Arabia promising them jobs, but the people they recruited have been involved in forced labor without salaries.
Criminal proceedings have been instituted against them under the provisions of Article 130 of Tajikistan’s Penal Code – trafficking in human being; an investigation is under way.
Saudi Arabia is a relatively new labor migration destination for Tajiks and there are no official estimates about the number of Tajik nationals currently working in the kingdom.
Tajik officials say Tajikistan does not have a bilateral agreement on job quotas with Saudi authorities.
Saudi Arabia and several other Arab countries of the Persian Gulf have long been criticized for failing to protect foreign workers' rights amid widespread reports of abuse.
