*ISLAMABAD: *Thousands of Pakistanis imprisoned in Saudi Arabia and dozenssentenced to death in the kingdom have been denied their legal rights to adefence, a report in Islamabad warned on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia executes more Pakistanis than any other foreign nationalityannually, nearly all for heroin smuggling, according to the study byJustice Project Pakistan and Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Sixty-six Pakistanis were beheaded in the country between 2014 and 2017alone, the report entitled “Caught in a Web” said.

“You not only have the death sentence, but you have it without due processor elementary fair trial,” Saroop Ijaz, an HRW researcher, told AFP.

Pakistani migrants are “exceptionally disempowered and marginalised,” Ijaztold AFP, adding that the group faces a “premodern discriminatory” criminaljustice system in Saudi Arabia.

With 1.6 million nationals, Pakistanis constitute the second largestforeign community in Saudi Arabia, and most are members of a low-skilledworkforce with few rights.

Some 2,795 Pakistanis are currently imprisoned in Saudi Arabia, the studysays.

According to Saudi media reports, a Pakistani man was executed on Tuesdayin Mecca, convicted of drug trafficking.

Four others were sentenced last month for raping and killing a woman andraping her teenage daughter, according to the Saudi interior ministry.

Detained Pakistanis “have braved a system that puts them in periods ofdetention without charge or trial, no access to legal assistance, pressureon detainees from the authorities to sign confessions and acceptpredetermined prison sentences to avoid prolonged arbitrary detention,”said Sarah Belal, executive director for JPP.

The report also criticised inefficient translation services, which can“make Pakistanis sign a confession without even knowing it,” said Ijaz, whoalso blamed Islamabad for not doing enough to help.

“The Pakistani government has not shown either the willingness or thecapacity to defend its citizens who are facing a harsh and discriminatoryjustice system.”

Under the “kafala” system in force in Saudi Arabia, which regulates thestatus of migrant workers, many are prohibited from changing jobs beforethe end of their contract if their employer objects to it — a restrictionwhich NGOs call forced labour or even slavery.

Since the beginning of the year, 31 people of all nationalities have beenexecuted in Saudi Arabia, according to an AFP count. – Agencies