DOHA: Amnesty International has revealed that Qatar detained 22 Nepali migrant workers and expelled them last month after telling them they were being taken to be tested for the new coronavirus.

Qatari police had on March 12 and 13 apprehended hundreds of migrant workers on the street, then held them in detention for several days. They were then flown to Nepal.

A Nepali said that the jail was full of people. “We were given one piece of bread each day, which was not enough. All the people were fed in a group, with food lying on plastic on the floor”, he added.

Only three men said they had had their temperature checked while in detention, but most said they had been checked before flying out of Qatar.

Amnesty said all the workers had left Qatar without receiving salaries owed or end-of-service benefits.

The Qatari government rejected Amnesty’s allegations on the status of workers repatriated to their country “in accordance with Qatar’s legal system” and “due to their illegal activity”.

“During routine inspections as part of the government’s coronavirus control measures, officials uncovered individuals engaged in illegal and illicit activity,” a statement tweeted by the government communication office said.

“This included the manufacture and sale of banned and prohibited substances, along with the sale of dangerous food goods that could seriously threaten the health of people if consumed,” it added.

Doha also rejected the accusations regarding the conditions under which individuals were arrested and detained.
(with inputs from Agencies)