RIYADH — During the past period, the Directorate General of Prisons in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice has held 11,052 remote trial sessions (by video-link) for male and female inmates in the prisons in various regions of the Kingdom, Saudi Press Agency said recently. "Remote" trials aim to reduce the duration of litigation and cut the time and effort in transferring prisoners to and from the courts while achieving all judicial guarantees for defendants and prisoners during trials, and preserving the health of the beneficiaries, amid the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. Several video courtrooms in a number of district prisons have been equipped with the necessary technical devices, in addition to fingerprinting machines to verify the inmates' data, and a visual communication system linked with the Ministry of Justice, with the possibility of merging the translator and the prisoner together in one session (virtually). The system guarantees all rights for the inmate in line with the regulations and legal directives.
