Brig. Sabah Al-Zamhari, director of Madinah prisons, opened the third book fair in Madinah in the presence of a number of government officials and representatives of charitable societies.

The exhibition, titled “Books, Culture and Guidance,” is organized by Madinah Prison’s religious affairs department. The National Committee for the Welfare of Prisoners and their families and the former inmates supported the event as well as Al-Maghamsi publication and distribution house.

The seven-day event will run until Jan. 19, featuring more than 4,000 diverse books, some of which are in foreign languages, including English and Urdu taking into consideration the different nationalities of the prisoners in Madinah jails.

The books cover a variety of subjects ranging from legal, scientific, educational, medical and cultural affairs as well as poetry, short stories, and novels, and other useful books.

Other associating activities were organized such as training courses and workshops that last for five days. These courses were organized in collaboration with the First Industrial Secondary Institute in Madinah and aim to empower prisoners and help them deal with their problems whether it has to do with their personalities or other physiological issues like depression, anxiety and stress.

A separate exhibition specialized in psychiatric health was organized at the same time in collaboration with Al-Amal complex for mental health in Madinah. The fair contains leaflets and pictures spreading awareness about mental health problems, their harms and remedies.

These efforts come as part of the cultural and entertainment programs implemented for the prisoners throughout the year by the religious affairs department as well as eight different governmental and charitable bodies, including Madinah Islamic University, Taiba University, the Education Department, the collaborative office, Usrati Association and other organizations that are involved in community service.