DAMMAM: Two lecture halls have opened at Dammam and King Faisal universities for the distance learning program in which female and male inmates from prisons in the Eastern Province have enrolled, Brig. Abdullah Al-Boushi, Director of Prisons in the Eastern Province, said after attending the 2011 Spring Community Program organized by the Dammam Correction House for 100 inmates. “We have started distance learning classes with the first semester and now the inmates have joined the second semester,” he said. In other efforts to provide better conditions for inmates, more dormitories have been opened in the region's prisons to reduce overcrowding and they will be added to the Dammam, Khobar and Khafji correction houses, he added. Correction houses in Dammam are maintaining social and entrainment efforts, especially the Spring Community program, said Brigadier Al-Boushi, who pointed out that these programs have a positive psychological impact on inmates. Prison administrators give due attention to the social and entrainment programs for inmates, particularly the Spring Community event, which is entertaining and refreshing and includes a picnic in external garden, he said. Dr. Ablan Al-Dowsari, a judge at the District Court in Dammam and head of the Committee for Prisoners with Criminal Records, said the group looks after 2,000 female and male inmates. He also said the committee has allotted a dormitory for prisoners who have repented. The dormitory is the first of its kind in the Kingdom, he said. “In this dormitory, we hold training courses, symposia and classes, in cooperation with private and government institutions,” he said. “Through this Committee, we are trying to open centers for continued care at Al-Wabil Mosque in Dammam to advise, guide and coach the inmates in order to help them build on their progress.” The committee has organized a number of efforts such as the Moumkin campaign, which helps psychologically rehabilitate inmates so they can return to normal lives, he added. Several inmates have shown great interest in this program, based on their desires to lead honorable lives, Dr. Al-Dowsari said.
