Fulad commends Bahrain Alternative Penalties and Open Prisons programme

TDT | Manama                         

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society (BHRWS) organised a seminar entitled “Kingdom of Bahrain: The Alternative Penalties and Open Prisons in Bahrain” yesterday in Geneva. Experts and human rights activists as well as international non-government organisations (NGOs) took part in the seminar which is held from 13 June to 8 July at the Palais des Nations.

BHRWS Secretary General Faisal Fulad presented a paper at the event where he discussed about the Alternative Penalties and Open Prisons programme in the Kingdom. According to Fulad, the people, families as well as families of convicts in Bahrain pay tribute and support the programme.

Around 3,836 individuals in Bahrain have benefited from the alternative penalties based on the latest statistics. The rate of recommitting crimes after the end of the penalty has reached 4%. Fulad commended the directives of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, to put in place the necessary executive and legislative mechanisms for the programme.

He described the move as a reflection of the kingdom’s keenness to protect and promote the human rights system and a model to emulate according to international standards. The top BHRWS official also noted that Bahrain’s efforts and tireless endeavour to develop the criminal justice system and foster human rights is an extension of the success of the alternative penalties programme as a national, civilisational and humanitarian project.

The Interior Ministry has taken several steps to expand the implementation of the alternative penalties, including following up the cases of convicts after they served their alternative penalties.

The expansion also covers online training and rehabilitation, community service work in cooperation with the private section and a computer system to link all concerned authorities to get daily reports on the beneficiaries. Likewise, Fulad stressed the importance of the move in rehabilitating the wrongdoers and reintegrate them in the community according to well-defined regulations.