MAKKAH: Discretionary substitute sentences have become an alternative form of punishment meted out by Saudi judges for crimes that do not normally invite capital punishment.
The substitute sentences are only applied on Ta’zir crimes (those that entail discretionary punishments) and not on Hadd crimes (those whose punishment has been prescribed in the Qur’an or Hadith).
Substitute punishments — the basis of which has always existed in the Kingdom’s legal framework — have become prominent in recent times and include a variety of sentences, which judges may opt for.
Instead of sending a criminal to prison or sentencing him or her to being flogged, a judge may ask the person to memorize some chapters of the Holy Qur’an, or a number of Hadiths. The verdict may also include community service such as cleaning mosques, hospitals and other public places for a specific period of time.
Saudis and expatriates have welcomed the use of substitute sentences and called for traffic violators to also be punished in the same way. Some of them said these kinds of punishments would benefit both criminals and society and would absolve the violator from developing a criminal record.
Gen. Ahmed ibn Saleh Al-Zahrani, director of Jeddah prisons, said alternative sentences benefited both criminals and society. “When a violator memorizes a number of Qur’anic verses or Hadiths, he becomes a useful citizen and is constantly conscious of Allah’s presence, something that prevents him from a life of crime,” he said.
Gen. Zahrani called for the establishment of a special independent department to follow up on alternative sentences to ensure they are strictly applied. “Such sentences would reduce overcrowding in prisons and lower costs,” he said.
Col. Ahmed ibn Nashi Al-Otaibi, director of the Traffic Department in Makkah, welcomed alternative sentences, but disagreed that they should be used to punish traffic violators. “The traffic punishments have been approved by royal decrees. They include either fines or imprisonment, or both. These sentences are decided by the punishment authority, which consists of a legal adviser and two police officers,” he said. “There is no way we can resort to alternative sentences in the case of traffic violations, such as over speeding, reversing at the wrong place, or running red lights, as these violations are life threatening.”
Dr. Najla Reza, chairman of the Center for Disabled Children in Makkah, said she could not agree more with alternative sentencing. “Prison is not always a deterrent or a remedy. Some people who are not really criminals may become hardened criminals once they leave prison,” she said.
Reza added that relatives of prisoners sometimes lie when people ask about them out of shame.
“They will tell you that the person concerned is traveling when he is actually in prison. If he were to receive an alternative sentence — such as cleaning a mosque or hospital — he would always be in the public glare,” she said.
“There is no way to hide such an issue. The person would then feel ashamed and abstain from crime,” she said.
Sheikh Ahmed ibn Qasim Al-Ghamdi, director of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice in Makkah, also supports alternative sentencing and believes this would deter criminals from returning to a life of crime.
“Ta’zir can also include fines and other types of punishment. In addition, some Muslim scholars do not consider imprisonment to be an Islamic form of punishment. There are other types of punishment prescribed by the faith,” he said.
