JEDDAH, 7 April 2006 — Jeddah jails are set for a face lift with the launching of new projects worth SR1 billion. Several developmental and educational projects such as training institutes, hospitals and industrial units are planned for the Briman Jail.
The aim is to rehabilitate the prisoners, Maj. Gen. Ahmad Al-Zahrani, director of Jeddah prisons, told Al-Madinah newspaper in a recent interview.
Feasibility studies are also being conducted to increase the capacity of the Jeddah jails with additional wards, Al-Zahrani said.
The administration also plans to shift prisoners serving long terms to smaller jails in the region. It will also expedite formalities related to the deportation of expatriate prisoners so that the Kingdom need not shoulder the cost of their extended stays, Al-Zahrani added.
A full-fledged hospital with wide-ranging facilities and specializations will be built on the jail premises in line with the recommendations of an expert committee that visited the jail. The committee also recommended that those involved in civil disputes should be jailed only after they had been convicted.
Discussing the schemes to be launched in the jail, the director said six schools at various levels would be constructed on the premises. Several experts in social work and psychology are being employed to help the prisoners. Arrangements are being made to study the prisoners’ special requirements. The committee recommended the opening of a separate clinic in the women wards with all facilities.
Al-Zahrani noted with satisfaction that the inmates were serious about continuing their studies in jail while the Education Department was doing its best to help them.
In another development Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed ordered the deportation of all women prisoners in Jeddah who have tested positive for the HIV virus.
Justice Sheikh Abdullah Al-Athaim, a chief judge, has also urged the concerned departments to expedite the required formalities regarding the women prisoners so that their cases could be settled as quickly as possible.
In another development, the jail authorities have decided to introduce a family day so that the prisoners can strengthen family ties, Al-Riyadh daily reported. The family meetings, a humanitarian gesture by the prison administration, will take place in a specially designed secure family unit.
