JEDDAH, 27 October 2006 — About 8,500 individuals jailed for minor offenses were released during Ramadan following an amnesty declared by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, according to Maj. Gen. Ali Hussein Al-Harithy, director general of prisons.
He emphasized the government’s desire to transform the country’s prisons into reformatories. “We also encourage inmates to take part in educational programs in the prisons,” he said.
Addressing a ceremony at Jeddah Reformatory on Monday soon after Eid prayers, Al-Harithy reiterated the authorities’ desire to deal with prisoners humanely and change them by providing education and religious advice.
“We will allow relatives to visit their imprisoned loved ones during the Eid holiday and this will be the biggest Eid gift for prisoners as well as for their relatives and close families,” Al-Harithy said. “We hope these Eid meetings with families will discourage people from committing crimes and encourage them to become productive members of society when they are released from jail,” Al-Madinah quoted Al-Harithy at the ceremony.
Earlier, accompanied by senior officers, Al-Harithy visited prisoners and inquired about their health. The detainees in the reformatory were between 20 and 25 years old and most of them were held on drug-related charges. Sweets were distributed to the prisoners and their relatives during the visit.
The wife of one prisoner said it was for the first time her husband had been away from home on Eid day. “He used to spend a lot of time away from home because of drugs, but he never left us on an Eid day. When I heard about the royal order allowing families to visit their relatives in prison, I thought it would be a good chance to meet my husband with our children and remind him of what we are going through as a result of his bad habit,” she said.
Coming from outside Jeddah, Muhammad, the father of another prisoner, said he and his wife would remain in Jeddah throughout the holidays in order to visit their son as often as possible.
King Abdullah declared another amnesty in June when 8,570 prisoners were released, Al-Harithy pointed out. He explained that prisoners were released after a careful study of their files by representatives of the governorates, prisons, police and the commission for investigation and public prosecution. The amnesty does not include those held for murder, drug trafficking, money laundering, armed robbery and forgery.
