RIYADH, 18 August 2006 — The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) demanded speedy action by the committees entrusted with the implementation of the royal pardon to the prisoners in the Kingdom’s jails.
The NSHR was also critical of the lukewarm attitude of some foreign consulates in the matter of arranging for the return of the released prisoners belonging to their respective countries, Al-Watan newspaper reported yesterday.
The vice president of the NSHR, Mufleh Al-Qahtani, said that the release procedures of the prisoners should have been completed within a few days after the royal amnesty was issued and he urged concerned officials to step up their processing procedure so that the prisoners can be released as soon as possible.
“The regulations require that a person should not remain in the prison beyond the completion of the term,” said Al-Qahtani.
“However there are cases involving foreign nationals who may not have air tickets ready. The delay may be caused by the lack of cooperation on the part of the consul of the country to which the prisoner belongs.”
On a question about the state of the prisons where the NSHR made inspection tours, Al-Qahtani said: “We expect improvements in them, but it may take some time because the jail administration is currently undertaking time-consuming grand schemes and great reforms.”
According to press reports, 18 prisoners of private rights were released in Baha while all prisoners of the same category have been freed from Jizan.
While the processing of the papers of prisoners in Najran, Asir and several other regions are progressing, cases of 250 prisoners in Riyadh and 60 in Hail are almost finished and they will shortly be released.
The prisoners of private rights are mainly behind the bars because of their inability to pay back the loans taken by them. A large number of them are related to car loans. Several remain in the prison because they cannot pay the compensation money following the accidents they had been involved in.
There is a man who landed in jail because he volunteered to guarantee for the loan of his relative of his boss. The relative did not repay the loan and this man had to go to jail.
However all the released prisoners are full of praise and prayers to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah whose pardon helped them to go back to their dear ones and lead a normal life like any other citizens.
The director of prisons in Baha, Col. Saleh Al-Qahtani said all the 18 prisoners of private rights in the Baha were released while a total of 155 people were set free from all jails in the region.
However an official in Madinah prisons administration said he did not have the precise number of inmates of private rights in prisons in the region.
The files have been sent to Riyadh for action and he did not have any idea when the formalities for the release of the prisoners would be completed.
