‘Recovery’ scheme initiated for alternative sentence

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Staff Reporter

The Minister of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments, Shaikh Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa, has initiated a new scheme titled “Recovery Programme” for those who have been awarded alternative sentences.

The new programme comprises rehabilitation and training initiatives to those, who have received alternative penalties. The minister pointed out that the Undersecretary for Justice and Islamic Affairs must implement the provisions of the decision and it shall come into force from the day following the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.

Until now, 4,188 inmates have benefitted from the Alternative Sentencing Law, which was introduced in the year 2018. According to Public Prosecution, the substitution of sentences of imprisonment with alternative sentences follows a judicial process after reviewing the individual, social and economic circumstances of each case, following formal referral by the Verdicts Implementation Directorate of the Interior Ministry.

All cases were each considered carefully by the relevant judge, and all have had sentences of imprisonment replaced with various types of alternative penalties appropriate to the individual circumstances of each inmate and their case, according to Public Prosecution.

The Verdicts Implementation Directorate has always highlighted that the decree-law mentions alternative sentencing as an important tool in the rehabilitation of inmates and their reintegration into society.

A number of Parliamentarians has hailed the humanitarian gesture of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa for the special pardon and the release of 160 inmates after they served a period of punishments issued against them.

Sixty-nine inmates also became the beneficiary of Alternative Penalty Law, which is a landmark humanitarian initiative in the Kingdom. Parliamentarian Dr Abdullah Al Thawadi said that the release of inmates and the benefit of others from alternative punishments confirms Bahrain’s progress in achieving its national goals, preserving the social fabric and strengthening national cohesion, and giving inmates a new opportunity to start over in their lives and work to achieve their wishes and hopes in their social environment, and to stay away from everything that violates the law.

Echoing a similar view, Parliamentarian Ammar Ahmed Al Bannai, Chairman of the Permanent Specific Committee for Human Rights and member of the Foreign Affairs, Defense and National Security Committee in the House of Representatives, indicated that the royal decree pardoning the special reflects His Majesty’s constant and renewed keenness to give the convicted Bahraini citizen a new beginning to renew his patriotism.

“It embodied the values and principles of responsibility for the patriarchal gesture that His Majesty bears towards citizens. It also reinforced the principles of human rights and the distinguished human rights march of the Kingdom.”

Mr Al Bannai stressed that His Majesty is a beacon of humanity and tolerance, expressing his hope that those who were included in the amnesty would benefit from this opportunity to integrate into society and participate in the march of progress and construction.