JEDDAH, 25 September 2007 — The Supreme Council for Prisons met here yesterday under the chairmanship of Interior Minister Prince Naif and took a series of decisions to improve conditions inside jails across the country.
“The meeting approved a development plan to improve conditions of prisons,” an official statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said. Financial allocations will be made to build 34 new reformatories, it added. No figures were provided.
The council also decided to adopt punishments other than jail sentence, such as imposing financial penalties instead of jail time for non-violent criminal behavior.
Health centers and medical clinics at prisons will be provided with adequate staff, equipment and medicines, the SPA report said.
Services of relevant government agencies will be utilized for the care and rehabilitation of prisoners, it said.
The meeting also decided to invite private investments inside prisons to support efforts for the care and reformation of prisoners and set up factories and workshops.
Businessmen will be asked to open productive factories inside prisons, the statement said. Allocations will be made to support researches related to prisons, it added. Two studies will be conducted on the return of people to prisons, and crowding inside prisons and its impact on reformation.
“Prisoners will also be given financial incentives,” the council said.
Prince Muhammad ibn Naif, assistant interior minister for security affairs, as well as the ministers of justice, work, finance, education, health, social affairs, and other senior officials, attended the meeting.
In a previous statement, Maj. Gen. Ali Al-Harithy, director general of prisons, emphasized the government’s desire to transform the country’s prisons into reformatories. “We encourage inmates to take part in educational programs in prisons,” he said, reiterating the authorities’ desire to deal with prisoners humanely and change them by providing education and religious advice.
According to judicial sources, 45 percent of cases in the Kingdom are related to private rights and that Saudi courts annually receive an average of 24,000 such cases. Cases related to divorce and expenditure account for 40 percent of family issues. Blood money for murder and road accident cases do not exceed 10 percent, one source said. Crimes such as theft and drug trafficking represent 40 percent of the total cases referred to courts, he added.
