Saudi to deport expats jailed over 3 months

Saudi Arabia has enacted tough laws involving the deportation of expatriate offenders sentenced for at least three months in prison or 40 lashes as the conservative Gulf Kingdom is pushing ahead with a crackdown on spiraling crime.

Minister of Interior Prince Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, the Monarch’s brother, has issued new rules allowing courts to deport all those who are convicted and sentenced to at least three months or 40 lashes in any court case.

Those who are sentenced to below than three months in jail will be required to submit a written letter pledging not to repeat the offence or will be deported in the second case.

Expatriates living in the other GCC states and have a police record in Saudi Arabia will be banned from entering the Gulf Kingdom while foreigners who stay in the country illegally will be barred for three years. In case they are caught sneaking into the Kingdom or staying illegally for the second time, they will be barred permanently.

The new rules, published by the London-based Saudi Arabic language daily, also stipulated that an expatriate with a Saudi wife or mother must sign a letter pledging not to repeat any offence or he will be deported permanently in the second case.

Saudi Arabia, the largest GCC member and the world’s top oil exporter, has around eight million foreigners, mostly Arabs, Africans and south Asians. Its native population was estimated at around 21 million at the end of 2012.

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