A prisoner is still behind the bars at Al-Khobar's prison despite having served his full prison term. An Al-Khobar court directed the release of the man after a year in prison for lack of evidence in charges of sexual harassment of his daughters and possession of drugs. Unidentified sources at the Eastern Province's prisons said that the prisoner, whose name was not disclosed, has already spent three times the original sentence. The Al-Khobar prison administration has referred the matter to the police, Al-Watan said. Major General Mohammad Bin Misfer Al-Nafei asserted that no hurdles will be placed in the way of releasing the prisoner. He also said there will be a probe into the causes of his delayed release. Dr. Zohair Al-Harethi, spokesperson of National Society for Human Rights, said the society had no knowledge of the case. He said the society would strive to resolve the case expeditiously. The 40-year old man was arrested three years ago. The police wrapped up the case in a month and he was taken to the general prison even before the case was referred to court for settlement, his brother alleged. Two years after the case was registered, the brother filed a petition for consideration of the case that remained stalled at the police department. Orders were later issued to expedite referral of the case to a court which ruled that the man should be released for lack of evidence. The release of the prisoner does not appear to be imminent despite the fact that the Ministry of Justice has issued orders for his release on personal bail. __
