We, the undersigned organisations, strongly condemn the forced labour, financial extortion and gross abuse suffered by Indian expatriate Ahmed Abdul Majeed at the hands of his Saudi employer, Seera Group…We call on Saudi Arabia’s authorities to set up an impartial investigation into his case and ensure that he receives the money owed to him plus compensation.

Abdul Majeed arrived in Saudi Arabia in 1981 and spent 40 years working as a senior sales manager for Saudi travel agency Al Tayyar Travel. Following a notorious purge by the authorities in 2017…the company underwent a restructuring at the direction of the state. It was rebranded as Seera Group in April 2019 and placed under the control of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF)…

…in March 2020, the new management abruptly terminated Abdul Majeed’s employment without giving a reason. He told his employer he wished to return to India to care for his gravely ill wife…his request was denied; his passport was also confiscated…

The company then devised a scheme to force him into continuing to work without pay…

… Abdul Majeed has yet to receive any reimbursement or even acknowledgement from either the company or the Saudi or Indian authorities, despite his repeated appeals…