Mishal Al-Otabi
RIYADH — The infamous Al-Hayer prison in Riyadh is in fact a model reformatory that sympathetically caters to the needs of inmates during their stay and upon release after serving their sentences, according to the prison's director.
Col. Khaled Bin Qantan Al-Maliki was speaking to journalists who toured various facilities of the prison and met a number of inmates. The tour was arranged by the Ministry of Interior.
"The directorate general of prisons is keen to ensure the comfort of prisoners and their visitors. The prisoners are provided with reformist programs and vocational training that will equip them with skills to be employed upon their release after serving their prison terms," he said.
Maliki said there is no hard labor for inmates in Saudi prisons. They are however given training and education, he said, adding that the prisoners are given ample time to take part in entertainment programs.
"Special family visits are organized for some prisoners based on reports from the concerned authorities," he added.
Maliki said the intake capacity of the Al-Hayer reformatory is 7,272 male and female prisoners. The facility has room for expansion with the possibility of constructing new buildings to accommodate another 9,400 prisoners in the future.
"Al-Hayer reformatory is a model facility reflecting a bright picture of prisons in the Kingdom. It is the best internationally in respect of services being provided to the prisoners according to the testimonies of a number of the international human rights organizations," Maliki said.
He said the prison management is keen to ensure that certain type of prisoners should never mix, especially the drugs users and traffickers.
"Their mixing in the prison may help them build strong ties with the possibility that they will continue their evil crimes upon release," he said.
Maliki explained that each prison unit accommodates 256 prisoners in two wards each with 22 cells. Each cell accommodates six inmates.
"There are private rooms for people with special needs who are five in number at present," he added.
Maliki said there are agricultural, animal and poultry farms attached to the prison to cater to the needs of the prisoners. These farms occupy the prisoners in useful activities and reduce the costs on food purchases from outside.
The director of engineering affairs in the prison, First Lt. Saad Al-Oraifi, said there are four reformatories in Riyadh, Jeddah, Taif and Dammam.
"Each facility consists of a security building to lock in the prisoners, administrative and service utilities," he said.
Oraifi said the women prisoners are separated from men by a high wall. He added there are four units in the women's prison, each accommodating 256 prisoners.
He said the family home, a facility where women prisoners meet with their husbands and children, is in the center of the women's prison.
In addition to a training institute, there are a school and a reception area where prisoners are classified on arrival and release.
Oraifi said there is a special airfield on the top of the prison for aircraft to land and take off at times of emergency.
"There is a health center which has clinics for internal and eye medicine, dentistry, an X-ray room and a lab. There are 11 clinics for preliminary diagnosis," he said, adding that the dispensary receives an average of 200 sick prisoners every day.
"The prisoners with serious illness will be transferred to other hospitals in Riyadh if there is need," he explained.
Oraifi said the prison has a school with 38 classrooms accommodating about 750 prisoners at a time, in addition to 17 workshops teaching carpentry, wielding, wiring, sewing, maintenance and other skills.
Oraifi said there is a bakery producing about 10,000 loaves of bread every day to feed the prisoners.
"We have a land area of more than 90,000 square meters, which we handed over to the Saudi Industrial Property Authority (Modon) to build factories for the vocational training of prisoners to qualify them for the labor market upon release," he said.
