Prisoners and Detainees Rights Commission (PDRC) released its report regarding the first announced visit to the Open Prison Complex.
Ghada Hameed Habib, the Ombudswoman and Chairperson of the Prisoners and Detainees Rights Commission (PDRC), and Shaikh Khalid bin Rashid Al Khalifa, Director-General of Verdict Enforcement and Alternative Sentencing, were present.
The committee was briefed on the services, as well as rehabilitation and training programmes provided to the beneficiaries of the Open Prison Programme, in addition to the modern facilities and equipment, and advanced technologies that are used in the implementation of the programme, which adds to the successes of the alternative penalties project.
The report stated that this visit had gained special importance, given that it is the first of its kind to this complex, and due to the special nature of the open prison complex as a pioneering experience that had never been applied in Bahrain before, which prompted the PDRC to make qualitative adjustments to the visit mechanisms, and the verification principles, criteria and indicators which differ significantly from those used in visits to other correctional, rehabilitation, pre-trial detention, and other detention centres.
The visit reflected the level of positive and constructive cooperation between the PDRC and the Interior Ministry, represented by the General Directorate of Verdict Enforcement and Alternative Sentencing and Penalties, which showed great cooperation in organising this visit and making it appropriate and useful.
The PDRC report summarised its visit to the Open Prison Complex in the following:
The Open Prison Complex offers high-level rehabilitation services, according to a detailed plan and in sequential and organised stages, aimed at facilitating the process of integrating the beneficiaries into society again, in a smoother, gradual and timely manner.
The idea of open prisons and their application in Bahrain provides more positive options for the supervision and enforcement authority in the Interior Ministry represented by the General Directorate of Verdict Enforcement and Alternative Sentencing and Penalties when dealing with categories of inmates who are candidates to benefit from alternative penalties, in terms of the expansion of options for rehabilitative activities and incentives for good behaviour they have through the possibility of benefiting from open prisons.
It is also an opportunity to train specialised cadres in the Ministry of the Interior, especially in the General Directorate of Verdict Enforcement and Alternative Sentencing and Penalties, to deal with various groups with more professionalism and specialisation, and to accumulate practical experience in this field, which provides a broader vision of training, rehabilitation and humanitarian role in dealing with them.
This enhances the human rights methodology in the various agencies of the Ministry of Interior, especially in the fields of training and rehabilitation.
The Open Prison Complex in Bahrain meets all the criteria and indicators of the state of the place in terms of excellence and quality, which can be easily detected through the cleanliness and arrangement of the place and its facilities, and its enjoyment of the best standards of security and safety, as well as what it provides of distinguished living services through meals, means of subsistence, means of entertainment, health services and high-level sports.
PDRC’s report praised the Open Prisons Project and the high-end services it provides, including health and living care services that are provided to the beneficiaries.
It also commended the dedicated efforts made by the complex’s management to prepare the beneficiaries for reintegration into society and to search for suitable jobs for them, which is integrated with the alternative punishment programme and enhances its legal, social and humanitarian goals.
Source: Bahrain News Agency