Saudi Arabia Announces Prison Reforms
Maj. Gen. Ali Al-Harithy, director general of prisons in Saudi Arabia, said that a plan was under way to introduce alternatives to imprisonment, including parole and posting bail. The Interior Ministry would soon make public the rules and regulations of the new system, he added. “The move is not aimed at reducing the pressure in Saudi jails,” Al-Harithy said in comments published in an Arabic daily. “Our objective is much nobler and greater than that. We want to put in jail only those who deserve it.”
Justice Minister Abdullah Al-Asheikh also spoke about alternative punishments recently. “We have already distributed questionnaires among judges to elicit their opinions and proposals on alternative punishments. Many judges favor the idea saying it would contribute to reforming the accused,” the minister said.
There are 104 prisons and 12 reformatories across the Kingdom, the Arabic daily said, adding that about 32,000 of 44,600 inmates in Saudi jails are foreigners. Nearly 4,000 youngsters aged between 12 and 18 are living in reformatories …
The prisons chief said the bylaw of the new system is being prepared carefully with the participation of different agencies in the light of the best practices in developed countries. The alternatives include releasing suspects on bail. As punishment, suspects may be asked to do social services, such as cleaning mosques and schools or taking part in activities of charitable organizations or serving patients in addition to other activities that are beneficial to society.
Al-Harithy narrated the benefits of these alternative punishments. “Jail terms have become a burden for the prisoner as well as his family. We have seen some prisoners returning to jail after being released. This forced us to study alternatives to imprisonment in the light of the experiences of developed countries.” Al-Harithy said about half of the prisoners in Britain spend their term outside prison. “Some countries have adopted very good alternative punishments. We have studied all these best practices to implement a better system,” he added.
Bail, Community Corrections, INTERNATIONAL, Inmate Labor, Middle East, Saudi Arabia
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