DAMMAM, 26 February 2006 — The National Society for Human Rights has received more than 80 cases where youths sentenced to prison for relatively minor offenses are sharing space with hardened criminals, which, the NSHR argues, exposes these young adults to the habits of hard criminal activity and the yokes of drug abuse.

According to Al-Watan daily, the NSHR said there are more than 1,800 prisoners in Dammam alone encountering crowded and mixed conditions. These prisoners are living in 12 halls where rehabilitation programs are mixed with simple detention facilities.

The NSHR says that drug abuse is increasing inside the complex and spreading among prisoners with some hope of rehabilitation, according to the report. Youths who may have hit a rough patch and were sentenced for fighting or fatal joyriding are sharing space with convicts sentenced for drug trafficking and murder.

Non-violent people imprisoned for incurring excessive debt are also mixed willy-nilly with extremely violent offenders, the NSHR reports.

Some prisoners in Dammam said that drugs are easy to obtain in prisons in spite of efforts by authorities to crack down on drug abuse.

In a candid interview with Al-Watan, Gen. Ali Al-Harthi, in charge of the Kingdom’s prison system, admitted that there is a problem with drug smuggling inside prisons.

Prisoners told the daily that drugs are brought in by visitors and by prison staff looking to earn extra money on the side.

One prisoner interviewed by the paper said that punishment for misconduct isn’t strict. He claims to have been beaten by his drug-abusing cellmate, but the perpetrator was sentenced to only 72 hours of isolation.

When prison guards conduct surprise searches, they often come up with large stashes of drugs, especially hash. Capt. Abdullah Al-Malki foiled an attempt to smuggle six kilos of hashish — a quantity large enough for a drug-dealing operation — inside bags of dates. The delivery was meant for a prisoner serving 23 years. The visitor ended up joining his relative in the same prison for the crime.

Another method of smuggling in drugs is for couriers to throw small packages over the walls. Cleaners inside the prison pick these packages up like rubbish, then sell the drugs to the inmates.

Prison officials say they lack the technology to sniff out drugs and monitor more closely prisoners’ activities. As it is, prison officials must rely wholly on physical searches and informants.

Meanwhile, NSHR activists are saying that prison is turning small-time offenders who could be rehabilitated into hardened, drug-addled convicts.