Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH — Two ad hoc ministerial committees have been formed to deal with the rise in the number of deaths among inmates at Briman Prison, Makkah daily reported. The rise in deaths is believed to be because of overcrowding and the spread of dangerous diseases, the daily said. A source in one of the committees said: “The ministries of health and interior formed two committees to probe the death cases and count the number of inmates currently incarcerated. “The committees will also study the death cases that have been registered in the correction facility over the past 10 years.” The members had already studied 35 files related to the deceased inmates. Those inmates died because several dangerous diseases had spread and had not been contained in a timely manner, the source said. Briman Prison has a health facility but it cannot adequately provide its services to this large number of prisoners, the source said, noting some prisoners died of natural causes. Some of the deceased were receiving medical treatment at hospitals in Jeddah. The committees will require the hospital to provide medical reports of these cases to make sure they had been provided with necessary healthcare services. The source pointed out some prisoners died in mysterious circumstances that could be related to foul play. These cases have been referred to forensics doctors to determine the cause of death. A source from inside the prison told Makkah daily that some inmates have to sleep in the mosque, corridors and the dining room because there is not enough space in the cells. Brig. Ahmad Al-Shihrani, director of Briman Prison, said the facility does not have an overcrowding problem but there is a slight increase in the number of inmates. He said a new prison that meets global standards and provides full healthcare services would be ready soon.
