The Ministry of Justice has directed courts to expedite cases of prisoners, stressing that a prisoner must not remain in prison for a period longer than his term. Judicial sources said the Administrative Judiciary in the Board of Grievances is looking into 17 lawsuits filed against the Commission for Investigation and Prosecution (CIP), the police, Passports Department and General Administration for Prisons seeking compensation for taking citizens into custody without any legal or Shariah justification. Penal Procedures Regulations, sources said, specify a maximum detention of six months for a person accused of a crime. After this period, he should be referred to the court or released. A source in the CIP said the commission exercises its powers as stipulated in the regulations. He said the moment the detained person is referred to the judiciary, the power to release him or convict him lies solely with the judge. The CIP, the source said, is always keen to refer the cases of persons being held within the period stipulated by the regulations and any delay in looking into the cases is not within its powers. The source further said that the Ministry of Justice is preparing to activate the judicial aspect through the use of a computerized system in a number of courts starting with the District Court in Jeddah so as to tackle the delay in deciding on cases and to speed up the issuance of title deeds. The same source said the Ministry of Justice is monitoring the technical reasons for the delay in operating the electronic system in Jeddah District Court and has asked the authorities concerned to solve the problem. Article 217 of the Penal Procedures Regulations states that if a person has been sentenced to prison and he has already spent some time in prison before being brought to the court, then the period he spent in prison should be deducted from the jail term. If the period he spent in prison is longer than the jail term, then he has a right to demand compensation. The same applies to a person who has spent time in prison due to being falsely accused. He can also demand compensation.
