Kuwait: 19 Indian nurses who were working at a private clinic in Malia, Kuwait are in jail. These include young women with babies and nursing mothers.
60 people, including 30 Indians, were arrested for working in violation of the residency rules during the inspection by the Kuwait Manpower Committee. The Ministry of Interior of Kuwait states that those arrested are those who do not have a license and do not have sufficient qualifications. However, the relatives say that all the arrested Malayali nurses were working legally in the institution.
All have a valid visa and institutional sponsorship. Many have been working in the same hospital for 3 to 10 years. Apart from India, people from the Philippines, Egypt and Iran were caught.
The hospital is owned by a native of Iran. Relatives received the information that the recent dispute between the sponsor and the owner of the hospital led to the arrest. Among those arrested are 4 Malayali nurses who are nursing mothers. There is also a woman who was arrested on the same day she returned to work after her maternity leave.
After the intervention of the Indian Embassy in Kuwait and the Union Minister V. Muralidharan, an opportunity was provided for the babies to breastfeed in the jail. The relatives of the arrested Malayali nurses and the Malayali community are demanding that the Indian Embassy and the central government should intervene immediately and take steps to release the nurses.
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