Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud has disclosed that approximately 9,370 Bangladeshi citizens are currently detained in foreign jails, with Saudi Arabia hosting the largest number of detainees, totaling 5,746.
The disclosure was made during a question and answer session held in the 12th National Parliament on Monday (February 19), in response to a written question from Mohammad Hushamuddin Chowdhury, MP.
The foreign minister provided a breakdown of Bangladeshi detainees across several countries: Portugal (1), Egypt (6), Italy (81), South Africa (385), Korea (6), Sri Lanka (3), Qatar (415), Libya (9), Spain (19), Hong Kong (122), Singapore (66), Brunei (16), China (191), United Arab Emirates (404), Indonesia (49), Malaysia (219), Algeria (1), Thailand (4), Lebanon (28), Greece (414), Iraq (217), Turkey (508), Myanmar (358), Japan (2), and Jordan (100).
"The officials of overseas embassies have maintained regular communication with detainees and concern authorities. They uphold relentless contact with courts, police stations, and jail authorities to secure their release," stated Hasan Mahmud.
The foreign minister also highlighted that a representative or legal assistant from the embassy of the respective country assists expatriate workers during their trials to ensure they receive justice.
"We extend comprehensive assistance to the families of detained laborers, facilitating communication with local law firms. We also engage with the highest levels of the concerned countries to advocate for special and general amnesty for expatriate workers held in prisons," he added.
Furthermore, Hasan Mahmud mentioned that the embassy issues special travel permits and purchases tickets for the swift repatriation of migrant laborers detained in prisons after serving their sentences.
