RIYADH, 13 May 2008 — At their regular weekly meeting on Sunday, members of the Shoura Council expressed concern at crowding in Saudi prisons with some calling for building additional facilities or sending foreign inmates home to complete their sentences.
The condition of prisons in the Kingdom came under fire during the discussion of a report presented by the council’s Security Affairs Committee on incentives offered to inmates of juvenile detention centers, Al-Watan daily said yesterday.
There are currently 44,600 inmates in 104 jails across the Kingdom, said Bandar Al-Hajjar, a council member and chairman of the National Society for Human Rights. “Jeddah’s Briman jail, which has a capacity of 3,700 prisoners, is holding 9,300 inmates,” he said, adding that about 32,000 or 71 percent of the total number of prisoners are non-Saudis.
While some members suggested opening new jails to solve the problem, Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Maiman said that non-Saudi prisoners should be sent to home to complete their terms. He added that the Kingdom’s prisoner exchange agreement with other Arab countries should be immediately implemented.
“The reluctance by some Arab countries to accept their citizens in our prisons is a significant factor that has led to crowding in Saudi prisons,” said Maiman.
Commenting on poor conditions in jails, Al-Hajjar blamed four departments — the General Administration for Prisons, the Investigations and Prosecutions Board, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Health — for falling standards. He said suspects remain in jail awaiting trial for long periods.
Hatim Al-Shereef called for opening industrial parks to employ prisoners.
Ahmad Al-Mufreh stressed the need to have vocational training programs for young prisoners. He also drew the council’s attention to how minors are handed down inconsistent jail terms for similar offenses. “The sentences handed to minors for similar crimes should be uniform,” he said.
Al-Mufreh added that there was a need for transparency in the way juvenile detention centers are run. He further suggested that the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) should open training programs at juvenile detention centers.
Pointing out that only 25 percent of young prisoners joined education programs in jails, Abdul Aziz Al-Thunayyan suggested introducing incentives, such as reduction of prison terms to those who excel in studies.
The Security Affairs Committee submitted the report following a proposal by Interior Minister Prince Naif, who called for reducing prisoners’ sentences by 15 percent to encourage them to join academic programs.
The members also expressed their dismay at jail officials who were neglectful in enforcing regulations, such as the ban on mobile phones.
