" 'We drink from the toilet': migrants tell of hellish Saudi detention centres," 4 Aug 2020

Saudi authorities regularly arrest those found to be working illegally in the kingdom without a visa. Many are held in al-Shumaisi, a huge complex designed to hold 32,000 inmates...

[One worker said] “We are packed as animals. We sleep on metal beds with no mattress, no proper sanitation... We drink water from the toilet”...

Detainees are fearful of catching Covid-19 because of the cramped and insanitary living conditions...there is no way to tell if they have the virus as they don’t have access to healthcare...

“In a time of increased dangers from Covid-19, Saudi Arabia should move beyond small-scale detainee releases and take real steps to overhaul these detention centres and rethink its mass deportation policy.” [said Adam Coogle, deputy Middle East director at HRW].