Bahrain continues to comply with precautionary measures to ensure prison inmates' safety

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Interior Ministry Undersecretary and Head of the Human Rights Committee, Shaikh Nasser bin Abdulrahman Al Khalifa, asserted the ministry’s continuous follow-up on the implementation of the precautionary measures against COVID-19 pandemic to ensure the safety of its personnel. He also highlighted the continuation of the General Directorate of Reformation and Rehabilitation to carry out its successful procedures to promote the safety of inmates as per the institution's law, international standards and safety and security regulations.

The Undersecretary said that commitment to the human rights values and standards meet the general police work and the performance of the Reformation and Rehabilitation Centre. Some services were replaced with e-facilities such as video calls, e-court hearings, e-documentation and online medical consultations, he added.

He said that there are many safety measures, including the prevention of direct contact with inmates to protect their health and safety along with the allocation of a building as a field hospital and applying health quarantine on new inmates before entering the centre. Inmates were redistributed among buildings, and new annexes were opened, while they regularly undergo random COVID-19 tests and are provided with masks, gloves and sanitisers.

He noted that the department also carries regular disinfection operations in cooperation with the General Directorate of Civil Defence. The directorate works to develop the canteen and enforce new administrative measures to meet the needs of inmates. He said that the directorate, in cooperation with Batelco, has launched an initiative to provide free calling credits for inmates. He hailed the role of the company in the implementation of the initiative out of its community responsibility.