“Some of those imprisoned for small debts could remain there for a long time until a judge issues a verdict. A person locked up for failing to pay SR1,500 for a traffic accident could remain in prison for months until a ruling is issued.”
This is a quote from a prison officer in Riyadh in a feature story published in the Saudi press. The officer is to be warmly commended for his frankness.
One might be able to understand how these prisoners feel by comparing their suffering to the frustration of waiting for a traffic light to change. Is human life so cheap that it is only worth SR1,500? Is human life so cheap that we fail to expedite verdicts on these cases as quickly as possible?
The article was published a month ago and during the month, I expected to see some reaction from the Ministry of Justice or the Public Prosecution Department. Any action would have indicated their awareness which would surely have led to some kind of action being taken.
Unfortunately, nothing happened. The information in the newspaper article was unknown to many like me.
It reminded me of the motorist who ended up in jail after a minor traffic accident in which his car scratched another vehicle. He was completely in the dark, not knowing when a judge would consider his case or how soon a verdict would come.
It is unusual for a person to be kept in jail for such a small amount of money. Why not fix a minimum amount for which a person may be held in custody instead of leaving matters unchanged? Do we have to wait until a poverty line is determined to decide who should or should not remain in jail. I am afraid we may never arrive at a solution if no action is taken.
I am not at all optimistic that we may be able to determine the line of poverty. With all the conflicting figures on unemployment rates, we may end up having several standards for poverty instead of one.
Many have found themselves in prison after being victimized, either because of the temptations of modern life or from ignorance. Some others end up behind bars for failing to pay a bill or a car installment, some for not repaying a loan, and still others for not paying their servants.
Lack of statistics remains the big problem. If we were exposed to them, we might be shocked at what we saw. But statistics and figures are very precious although publishing them would be a great benefit and would open people’s eyes and minds to the reality and help find solutions to problems.
Arab News From the Local Press 16 December 2002
