JEDDAH — About 1,000 prisoners in various prisons in Makkah province are enrolled in education from the primary level to university, director of prisons in the region Brig. Faiz Bin Mastour Al-Ahmari told local daily Al-Madinah in an interview. He said the prisoners in the general education will be taken to their schools during the evenings and those of them who are at the university level will have their education from a remote distance inside the prisons. "We are providing the inmates with a package of rehabilitating and reforming programs either directly or through cooperation with a number of concerned bodies including the ministries of health, education, Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) and the religious offices of call and guidance," he said. The director said the various programs of reforms and rehabilitation start at 7 a.m and continue until 9 p.m. every day. "There are a number of social programs including the family day where prisoners are allowed to spend a private time with their wives and children," he said. Ahmari said during the morning time, the prisoners will have their programs of training while in the evening they will join schools or attend the social and entertainment programs. He said the prisoners are allowed to read newspapers, watch TV and have telephonic talk with their families. [caption id="attachment_44789" align="alignnone" width="750"] Library in a prison in Makkah province. It has precious books, publications and serials on all subjects. — Courtesy photos[/caption] "We have a big library containing precious books, publications and serials on all subjects which the prisoners can use any time," he said. The director said the prisoners can be relieved of about a quarter of their prison terms for good behavior and they will shed off half of the complete sentence if they memorize the entire Holy Qur'an by heart. "So the prisoners stand a good chance of reducing their jail terms either by good behavior or by memorization of the Holy Book," he said. The director said despite the rigorous correctional programs, some prisoners will not repent. They will go back to the world of crimes upon their release and will be locked again. He said most of the expatriate prisoners are locked in for crimes of narcotics, alcohol and robbery. He said they have a special department on human rights which considers the humanitarian cases of the inmates. "This department works closely with the human rights organizations to deal with the humanitarian issues of the prisoners," he explained.
