RIYADH, 3 October 2006 — Fawzeya, a pregnant woman who ended up in prison after incurring debts running into hundreds of thousands of riyals in a business venture that went wrong, has been released from prison after pledging never to borrow again.
Following her arrest for being unable to pay a SR300,000 loan, Al-Riyadh newspaper launched a campaign to collect the amount for her release. In a short time the money was collected and the debt was paid in full on her behalf.
In an interview with Al-Riyadh, Fawzeya said, “I thank God that I have been released at last. I learned the lesson the hard way and I think other people should learn from my experience. In the days I spent in prison I was deprived of the chance to see my kids. My health and work suffered. It is very hard to wake up in the morning and see that you are locked inside a small room and your kids are not around you. I cried a lot when I learned that my kids did not go to school on the first day of my arrest because I was not with them.”
Fawzeya was born an orphan. After two unsuccessful marriages, she had decided to start her own business to help her children. After taking goods on credit, she was unable to pay the loan back and ended up in prison.
After her release, Fawzeya has returned to work at the Riyadh medical compound where she is employed as a nurse. She said that she would never forget her experience and would try living a normal life with her family and try to make up for the days she has been away.
She added that on meeting her children she had cried. The children had been told that she was ill in hospital and asked her whether she had recovered from her illness.
“There are many innocent women in prison that were victims like me. They were all wondering why they had ended up in prison when the real criminals were out on the streets,” said Fawzeya.
