Lawmakers consider expanding non-custodial sentences with new legal reforms

TDT | Manama

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Lawmakers are set to decide on amendments granting judges greater flexibility to impose non-custodial sentences, including house arrest, electronic tagging, or mandatory training programmes.

The amendments are tied to Royal Decree No. (96) of 2024 and update Law No. (18) of 2017.

They introduce new sentencing options such as:

• Bans on visiting specific websites

• Court-ordered checkins with the police

• Commitment to psychiatric or specialist care facilities

Offenders sentenced to one year or less could also apply to have their punishment converted to one of these alternatives, subject to judicial approval.

Earlier this month, the lower house approved the government-drafted amendments following a report by the Foreign Affairs, Defence, and National Security Committee.

However, the timing of the upper chamber's review depends on the Eid Al-Fitr holiday and the moon sighting.

The revised list of punishments, which already includes community service and reparations, now also features internet restrictions and mandatory reporting to security authorities. The bill outlines that the Ministry of Interior will oversee the enforcement of these penalties, deciding how and where they are implemented.

Two new articles in the law emphasize rehabilitation through psychological and health-based care and introduce police-monitored check-ins as an intermediate measure between jail and freedom.

Legal committees in both chambers have reviewed the text and raised no objections.

These changes build on the original 2017 law, which introduced non-custodial sentences as a form of rehabilitation-focused justice. The amendments reflect lessons learned over the past eight years and aim to provide judges with more sentencing options while addressing offenders’ individual circumstances.