RIYADH, 30 April 2003 — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd has ordered the release of 5,000 Saudi and expatriate prisoners jailed for minor offenses, the director of jails said in remarks published by Okaz newspaper yesterday.
“A committee is currently assessing who should be released ... The first batch was released on Wednesday ... and work will be completed within two months,” Maj. Gen. Ali Al-Harithy told the daily.
Prisoners charged for minor offenses such as drinking alcohol, quarreling, traffic accidents and individual thefts and who are not required to pay money to others will be released, said Al-Harithy.
Candidates must not be repeat offenders and must not have committed major crimes such as drug trafficking, abduction, murder or armed robbery.
Al-Harithy estimated that around 5,000 prisoners throughout the Kingdom will benefit from the pardon, proposed by Interior Minister Prince Naif.
King Fahd pardoned 13,768 Saudis and expatriates in 2001. Several thousand prisoners are released every year on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan.
Al-Harithy said in December 2001 that Saudi Arabia was planning to abolish jail terms for a number of offenses as part of a major review of the Kingdom’s prison service. He said that prison reforms will also include allowing prisoners to continue in their jobs with their salaries to be paid to their families.
