Hundreds of Sri Lankan workers in Kuwaiti jails

KUWAIT: Some 264 Sri Lankan nationals who traveled to Kuwait for work are in prison in Kuwait, sources said this week.

The Kuwait Times quoting Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau sources said 64 of these prisoners are women. They have been imprisoned for charges such as escape from houses, thefts and murder.

Further, 200 women who migrated as housemaids are in Kuwaiti detention centres. It is reported that some Sri Lankan workers who are employed in garment factories in Kuwait have not received their salaries for months.

Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau Chairman Jagath Wellawatta, who visited Kuwait last week, has discussed with the Kuwait Government the workers' welfare.