Filipino Dies in Deportation Cell
Ghazanfar Ali Khan & Gloria Esguerra Melencio; 17/4/08
Philippine Consul General Ezzedin Tago confirmed yesterday that a Filipino worker died inside a crowded deportation cell in Jeddah on April 6. The man reportedly posed as a pilgrim who had lost his identification and turned himself in to expedite his deportation. Arman Navarro, a Filipino who was deported to Manila this week, identified the fatality as Ryan Castillo, a 30-year-old from Batangas City. The cause of death is unconfirmed, but Navarro claims Castillo contracted a disease inside the prison cell where he was brought by the Saudi immigration authorities and later succumbed to a heart attack. “The death of the OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker) indeed raises many questions,” said a statement from Connie Bragas-Regalado, the head of Migrante International, a Manila-based human rights group that advocates for Filipinos working in the Gulf. “
Tags: Asia, Saudi Arabia, The Philippines, Workers