‘23 inmates to benefit’ from alternative penalty initiative

Twenty-three inmates will benefit from the provisions of the Alternative Penalty Law to get the remaining half duration of their prison term replaced with an alternative penalty, Chief of Implementation Prosecution, Mohamed Al Musallam, said. Their applications have been accepted at the request of the Interior Ministry after they had demonstrated satisfactorily good conduct while serving sentences in reformative and rehabilitation facilities.

The law stipulates that an inmate who spent half the duration of his term may have the second half replaced with an alternative penalty provided that the inmate complies with certain conditions prescribed by law, otherwise he should return to serve the remaining duration, it is learnt.    Some 451 people convicted on different charges in Bahrain have served penalties other than jailing under a law issued in 2017, Minister of the Interior General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa had said.

The Alternative Penalties and Procedures Law, which went into force in May last year, authorises courts in the Kingdom to issue other penalties replacing imprisonment. The alternatives include doing community service, attending rehabilitation courses and paying to repair the damage caused by unlawful acts. Since its enforcement, 388 men, 52 women and 11 minors, convicted in different cases, have qualified for the law. “In view of directives from His Majesty the King about applying this law, other convicts can benefit from it,” an official said.

“Applying this law helps in maintaining societal and family stability as well as reforming the offender by encouraging him/ her to abandon unlawful acts and avoid repeating them in the future. “At the same time, it preserves society’s right to punishment and rehabilitates the convict to restore his/ her social standing.” His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa has directed “effective application” of the law on alternative penalties, a move hailed as further boosting human rights in the country.