Hardly a week goes by without Saudi authorities announcing mass arrests that, they claim, target migrants attempting to cross the border from Yemen into the kingdom illegally.
However, what is striking is that the latest report published by the Saudi Ministry of Interior on April 11 reveals that Ethiopian and Yemeni citizens top the list of detainees.
The account of the Saudi channel Al-Ikhbariya on the “X” platform reports the admission by the Ministry of the Interior in Riyadh that the number of migrants detained during the first days of April reached “15,458, of whom 60% are Ethiopians, 39% are Yemenis, and only 1% are of other nationalities.”
Claims regarding the abolition of the sponsorship system (kafala)
In a commentary on similar figures regarding thousands of Ethiopians detained in Saudi Arabia, a report by the “Merjan Times” platform, published last January, notes: “These weekly detention figures have become routine, as Saudi Arabia releases similar statistics every seven days.”
The platform adds: “The Saudi Ministry of Interior constantly warns that anyone caught helping irregular migrants faces penalties of up to 15 years in prison and fines of up to one million Saudi riyals (about $267,000). The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is home to more than 13 million migrant workers, who account for about 42% of the total population, according to 2022 census data. Most come from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Ethiopia, and Yemen.”
“Merjan Times” argues that, despite Saudi Arabia’s claims of having abolished the kafala system in June 2025 and replacing it with a contract-based system — which would supposedly allow workers greater freedom to change jobs and leave the country — as part of Vision 2030, the system has not changed substantially.
The platform further emphasizes that previous reforms in 2021 excluded domestic workers, construction workers, and hospitality sector workers — who remain the most vulnerable and suffer the worst forms of abuse — leaving them outside the protection promised to other migrant workers.
The report adds: “Human Rights Watch documented cases in 2022 and 2023 in which Saudi border guards killed Ethiopian migrants attempting to cross from Yemen. The organization also reported the use of explosive weapons and shooting at close range against some individuals. Ethiopian and Yemeni migrants travel an extremely dangerous route through Djibouti and Somalia to reach Yemen, from where they attempt to cross into Saudi Arabia through mountainous areas.”
Vulnerability of the situation
In analyzing the repatriation of thousands of Ethiopians as part of the Ethiopian government’s program to return its citizens from Saudi Arabia, the “Addis Standard” platform notes that 45,000 Ethiopians were repatriated between last September and January, pointing out that minors were among the returnees, which “highlights the vulnerability of certain groups.”
The platform adds: “The operation is part of a large-scale initiative announced in late March 2024, through which Addis Ababa committed to repatriating some 70,000 citizens living in difficult conditions in Saudi Arabia.”
Likewise, “Addis Standard” notes that the return program is a response to increasing reports of serious abuses against Ethiopian migrants in Saudi Arabia. A Human Rights Watch report from August 2023 documented the deaths of hundreds of Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers at the hands of Saudi forces between March 2022 and June 2023, describing the violence as widespread and systematic, and even warning that it could constitute crimes against humanity.
The text also states that “Saudi Arabia, which hosts some 750,000 Ethiopian migrants, has intensified its security operations against irregular migrants in recent years, leading to mass detentions and deportations. Many Ethiopians who undertake this dangerous route are fleeing poverty, conflict, and climate crises. According to the United Nations, the number of Ethiopians using this migration route increased by 32% between 2022 and 2023, reaching 96,670.”
In late June 2025, the Addis Standard reported that “at least 37 Ethiopian men face the death penalty in Saudi Arabia on drug-related charges,” citing a joint statement from 31 civil society and human rights organizations warning of the imminent risk of execution for hundreds of foreigners, as well as denouncing systematic violations of their rights to a fair trial, such as the lack of legal representation, denial of access to consular services, and the use of confessions obtained under torture.
The report concludes by noting that “international media have expressed concern over this situation.” A previous BBC report, citing relatives of detainees at the central prison in Najran, in southwestern Saudi Arabia, indicated that prison officials stated that executions had taken place before the recent Eid al-Adha holiday, including 47 Ethiopians sentenced to death. Some have reportedly already been executed, while other prisoners live in growing anxiety, not knowing the date of their execution.
