Prince Mishaal bin Abdullah, governor of Makkah, recently established a committee for the release of prisoners languishing in Saudi jails. He has also offered an additional SR50,000 to those prisoners who don’t have the money for their bail.

The governor made this announcement on Saturday and added that prisoners have to fulfill 12 conditions prior to availing themselves of these services.

Prince Mishaal said this decision of the governor’s office is a part of the Kingdom’s social responsibility toward its citizens and will help promote trust and solidarity between the people and their government. The prince further said that the aim of the commission will also fulfill its desire to solve some of the problems the prisoners are facing in the jails.

The committee is led by Prince Mishaal bin Abdullah with the deputy governor as vice president. The other members of the committee are Saudi businessmen Salah bin Hamdan Al-Balawi, Abdullah Saleh Kamel, Imad Abdul Kader Muhaideb, Yahya Mohammed Binladen, Sama Sulaiman, Dalal Saheli, with the governor’s secretary as treasurer.

Among the 12 conditions is one that says that the prisoner should be a Saudi citizen and resident of Makkah. The request for financial assistance to pay off the fine on the prisoner should not exceed SR50,000; the citizen should be in prison at the time of the request and should not be in a position to pay the fine required of him by the victim.

Furthermore, the applicant should prove that he has no other fine or case against him and that there is no demand against the prisoner by government banks, development funds or any financial penalties. However, disabled prisoners will be given priority and some exceptions will be made for them.

The committee will also help prisoners to understand their rights, and the applications will be approved by the committee’s president.