Nur Miyati, the Indonesian woman who was tortured in Saudi Arabia.

Nathan Brown - staff writer

According to a press release issued by The United States Department of Justice, Hana F. al Jader, a Saudi Princess, was arrested today on charges of forced labor.

According to the allegation, al Jader used coercion to keep two Indonesian women as domestic servants for her and her family.  Al Jader is alleged to have confiscated the women’s passports, restricting their freedom of movement and preventing them from fleeing. 

After the women’s visas had expired, al Jader unlawfully prevented them from leaving.  Al Jader is further charged with grossly misrepresenting the contract she made with the two women.  The contract stated that the women would earn $1500 a month and work less than 8 hours a day.  In reality, the women received $300 per month and worked well over 8 hours per day.

If convicted, al Jader faces up to 70 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

The arrest today comes in the wake of a horrific case of alleged abuse exposed yesterday inside the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  In that case, Nour Miyati, an Indonesian maid suffered horrific abuse to the point where she will suffer “permanent disabilities” according to Arab News, a Saudi-controlled media source.

Human Rights Watch, a New-York based group, has reported extensively on the problem of foreign workers’ abuse.  The group has described the conditions for foreign workers in Saudi Arabia as “resembling slavery.”

In a recent newspaper article, Nayef bin Hashem al-De'is, a member of the governmental Human Rights Committee of the Consultative Council, has described human rights as “mere theories that have no presence in reality.”  Amnesty International, the United States Department, and Human Rights Watch have all condemned human rights abuses inside the kingdom.

Today’s arrest, coupled with yesterdays report, raises the fear that the pervasive abuses of foreign workers inside the kingdom are being perpetuated in the US by Saudi nationals.