A team from the Human Rights Commission visited Najran prison in response to a video posted on “YouTube” and a number of social networking sites revealing the poor quality of food provided to prisoners.

Dr. Hadi Al-Yami, a member of the Human Rights Commission, announced in a press statement on Saturday that the Commission contacted the Prisons’ General Directorate, management and the Directorate of Najran region, to verify clips in the video showing a dinner of cooked chicken heads being served to the inmates of Najran prison last Monday evening.

Dr. Hadi Al-Yami pointed out that there is ongoing coordination with these authorities to investigate and validate the video, as well as locate the source of the issue. Authorities have already begun taking necessary actions and have formed a committee to investigate the incident to find the responsible persons, contractor or another department, he said.

He confirmed that the Commission is sparing no efforts to preserve the rights of prison inmates in the Kingdom, and is monitoring all activity inside the prisons countrywide through unannounced visits.

He said that during these visits, members of the Commission interview inmates and listen to their demands. Al-Yami also stressed the need to start building the new Najran prison as per the agreements adopted recently.