Judge ordered illegal release of prisoners

MADINAH — A judge at Madinah’s District Court who was assigned to work during the last Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha holidays alleged took advantage of his assignment and ordered the release of several people imprisoned over financial scams and nonpayment of debts. Among those released were expatriates accused of security violations. The judge's misconduct came to light after some managers of the operational departments refused to obey the judge's orders and sought advice from the region's emir. Some of them approached the implementation department, which advised them not to carry out the judge's orders until further instructions, according to a judicial source. The source said the judge issued orders for the release of more than 30 prisoners out of the way, ignoring procedures. In one case, the judge ordered the release of an expatriate imprisoned for over SR2 million debt. The source said the judge ordered the release of some accused of embezzlement and fraud, including a former bank director and the owner of a hotel group who swindled more than SR32 million out of citizens. The amount owed by those released exceeded more than SR40 million.