Parliament praises Royal pardon for jailed convicts

The Council of Representatives has decided to issue a statement in which it will extend deepest thanks and gratitude to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa following the issuance of a royal decree, pardoning 269 inmates and replacing the remaining jail sentences with non-custodial penalties for 530 inmates.

This came as the Council of Representatives held here yesterday the 10th meeting of the second session of the Fifth Legislative Term, under the chairmanship of Speaker, Fawzia Zainal. The meeting reviewed the correspondence addressed to it by the Shura Council Chairman, as well as the replies of the Finance and National Economy Minister, and those of the Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister to parliamentary questions.

The council also discussed a report by the Services Committee on amending Article 22 of Decree-Law 25/1998 with respect to Private Educational and Training Institutions, and referred it to the Shura Council. The meeting endorsed two parliamentary proposals and referred them to the government. They were related to establishing a health centre in Khalifa Town, acquiring an old house in Isa Town to make it a historical centre of the town, being the oldest housing project in the GCC region.

The council also endorsed urgent proposals and referred them to the government. They were related to addressing the problem of the salaries of the Interior Ministry’s security guards, and the non-inclusion of the Electricity and Water Authority among the entities obligated to provide customer information to credit information centres.

It also referred urgent proposals to the relevant committees, including the reduction of fees on government services by 50 per cent for the first-degree relatives of the late servicemen, in addition to the disbursement of housing allowances to alternative penalties’ beneficiaries who are entitled to them, and to work on returning them to their previous jobs. The Council’s Bureau was requested to draft the statements.