Death row inmates desperate to escape execution in Saudi Arabia call the BBC
Ethiopian inmates on death row in Saudi Arabia are reaching out to the media to highlight their dire conditions and the increasing frequency of executions. The prisoners, many of whom were migrants, face capital punishment for drug-related offenses amidst a surge in executions.
Why it matters
The report sheds light on the human rights implications of Saudi Arabia's judicial system and the vulnerability of migrant populations in the region.
Image caption, Some Ethiopian inmates got hold of the number for the BBC Tigrinya service and called from a prison phone to tell their stories
There was desperation in the voice of the young Ethiopian man when he managed to get through to the BBC from a phone in his prison cell on death row in Saudi Arabia.
Habtom, whose name - like the other prisoner featured in this article - has been changed to protect his identity, has been held in a jail in the southern city of Khamis Mushait for more than three years.
Above the noise of cellmates shouting behind him, he pleaded for help and sounded angry that his government appeared to be doing little to change his fate.
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