CORRECTIONAL facilities, like prisons, are generally not nice places because they are not supposed to be nice places. If they were resorts, everyone would be committing crimes in an attempt to get in. Nevertheless, the authorities are obligated to ensure that inmates, no matter what their offense was, are treated humanely. If not, the society itself proves itself to be no better than the offenders it is charged with rehabilitation. Recent revelations about the conditions of the women's correctional facility in Makkah were disturbing enough but the situation is becoming even more worrisome in light of what appears to be an attempt on the part of the officials to cover up their own actions and those of their staff. It has been reported that a riot broke out in the facility last week as the female inmates finally exploded after a lack of food and alleged repeated beatings at the hands of staff. Two days ago, the Gazette reported that “a high official” claimed to have known nothing about that incident, even though now its occurrence seems to be an accepted fact. Detention centers, by their very nature, are places where the internal reality often does not reach the public. Those who run such centers on all levels are not accustomed to their domain being visible to the public eye. After all, as far as most citizens are concerned, once an offender is off the street, he virtually does not exist. Whatever goes on there is hidden behind high walls. Saudi Arabia is not alone in maintaining a correctional facility that can sometimes disappoint the highest aspirations of its society. Around the world, abuses inside such centers are constantly coming to light. And it is extremely important that abuses do come to light. Just because the general attitude towards inmates is that they are an unsavory lot does not give anyone the right to abuse or mistreat them in any way. How we treat our inmates says a lot about ourselves. And those who violate the aspirations of the society must themselves pay a price. __
