At least 100 American citizens have been trapped for months on two U.S. bases inside Kuwait after local police unjustly issued warrants for their arrest, a U.S. defense contractor told FoxNews.com.
Most of the Americans were working as Arabic translators for Global Linguist Solutions, which ended a lucrative deal with its sponsoring Kuwaiti subcontractor, Al Shora International General Trading & Contracting and signed on with another company. Sources told FoxNews.com Al Shora's managing director is the sister-in-law of the Kuwaiti prime minister.
When the contract ended Feb. 17, Al Shora refused to transfer the employees' visas to the new Kuwaiti subcontractor and falsely accused the Americans of being "runaways and absconders," according to Charles Tolleson, president of Global Linguist Solutions. His company has barred workers from leaving the bases since May 31 to protect them from arrest and imprisonment.
"My biggest concern is the safety and security of my employees in Kuwait," he said.
One of the employees, who contacted FoxNews.com Tuesday morning from Camp Buehring, said, "If we leave the base, we could be arrested by the Kuwaiti authorities, jailed or deported."
Most of the Americans were working as Arabic translators for Global Linguist Solutions, which ended a lucrative deal with its sponsoring Kuwaiti subcontractor, Al Shora International General Trading & Contracting and signed on with another company. Sources told FoxNews.com Al Shora's managing director is the sister-in-law of the Kuwaiti prime minister.
When the contract ended Feb. 17, Al Shora refused to transfer the employees' visas to the new Kuwaiti subcontractor and falsely accused the Americans of being "runaways and absconders," according to Charles Tolleson, president of Global Linguist Solutions. His company has barred workers from leaving the bases since May 31 to protect them from arrest and imprisonment.
"We don’t see any hope. We’re dealing with a corrupt company in Kuwait that has fabricated charges against us."- American citizen trapped on U.S. base in Kuwait
"My biggest concern is the safety and security of my employees in Kuwait," he said.
One of the employees, who contacted FoxNews.com Tuesday morning from Camp Buehring, said, "If we leave the base, we could be arrested by the Kuwaiti authorities, jailed or deported."
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/06/18/captive-in-kuwait-contract-dispute-leaves-100-americans-stranded-on-us-army/#ixzz2WbUmM0MB
We cannot see the doctor even for an emergency," said the woman, who asked that her name not be used. "Everybody here is under stress because a lot of us here need to go home. Our families are worried about us. We need to see our kids... We don’t see any hope. We’re dealing with a corrupt company in Kuwait that has fabricated charges against us."
She said the Al Shora's managing director "cancelled all of our visas here, so we became illegal."
Camp Buehring is in the Kuwaiti desert, about 25 miles south of the Iraqi border. Other employees of Global Linguistics are similarly stuck at Camp Arifjan, another U.S. Army base inside Kuwait.
Al Shora is demanding $22 million from Global Linguistics in order to transfer the employees' visas to the new company, Kuwaiti Resources House, sources said. Under Kuwaiti law, foreigners cannot work in the country unless they are under the sponsorship of a private Kuwaiti company
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/06/18/captive-in-kuwait-contract-dispute-leaves-100-americans-stranded-on-us-army/#ixzz2WbUbXpfL
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