NSHR to address prisoners on hold, speed cameras

‘Saher not up to speed’RIYADH: The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) has reiterated calls for judicial offices to be set up inside prisons to serve inmates whose cases are making no progress in the judiciary.

NSHR president Muflih Al-Qahtani also called for wider use of alternative sentences as a substitute to incarceration.

Speaking at a press conference Tuesday to launch a new NSHR text message service, Al-Qahtani said that the NSHR had observed instances of imprisonment without trial, and that those cases and others were being “studied extensively” with the General Prisons Administration. He also said that a number of complaints concerning the “Saher” speed camera system were also being looked at.

“There are issues concerning the way it’s been introduced, which should have been (done) gradually and in such a way that it corresponds to the speed limits for each street,” he said of the traffic cameras. “We will be taking the issue up with Traffic Department authorities.”

The NSHR has also “reached an understanding” with the Ministry of Social Affairs to address concerns over young women’s detention centers and permit the NSHR’s women’s department to look into complaints they have heard from detainees.

Al-Qahtani said that most of the complaints concerned the nature of the programs provided by the detention centers and the conditions of buildings.

On issues related to the relationship between sponsors and workers, Al-Qahtani said that there was “no coordination existing between the Ministry of Labor and the Passports Department”. “The NSHR has observed unfathomable and unacceptable circumstances,” he said.

“Leaving some of these matters unaddressed is not in the interest of this country.”

The society has recently paid numerous visits to prisons and detention centers around the Kingdom – some of them without giving prison officials prior warning – to inspect conditions and hear the concerns of inmates. It also more recently sent members to visit the Shoura Council.

“The idea was to lay down specific work and communication procedures, and help the NSHR provide its remarks on regulations and proposals,” Al-Qahtani said of the Shoura visit.

The NSHR president made his comments at the launch of a new text message service to inform the public of their political, economic, social and legal rights.

The scheme – part of the NSHR’s “You can’t demand your rights if you don’t know them” program – provides those signed up with a daily morning and evening message containing information on aspects of national law related to human rights and the charters to which the Kingdom is a signatory.

The NSHR said it hopes the scheme will further promote the culture of human rights in society.

“There is still a lack of knowledge of people’s rights and that only leads to continuing negligence,” the society said ahead of the launch. “The service will make it easier for claimants and observers of failures alike to report instances. It’s the first such scheme of its kind in the region.”

Information will also cover education, employment, and health, as well as the rights of children, women and prisoners.


(2010-10-20/saudigazette)