Okaz/Saudi Gazette RIYADH — Four inmates at a social protection home escaped during a trip organized by the home on Monday. A source said the Social Protection Home for Girls in Riyadh organized a leisure trip to a recreational center in Al-Hamraa, north of Riyadh. "The inmates were taken on the trip by a bus and they arrived at 8:30 a.m. The four inmates were with the rest of the group on the trip. They approached one of the supervisors and asked for money to buy some essential items. The supervisor gave them the money and then they left but no one saw them again," said the source. The source also said the inmates that escaped are aged between 18 and 30. "All of them arrived at the home only this year, two of them just before Ramadan. The home had a total of 11 inmates, including the four who escaped. The home always tries to reconcile between the inmates and their families and in some cases it succeeds and in others it does not," said the source. The source said the supervisor immediately informed the home once she noticed four of the inmates were missing. "The home reported the incident to the police. The Ministry of Labor and Social Development is currently working with the police to investigate the details of the escape," the source said, recalling a similar incident at a social protection home in Jeddah last October. The source said a group of four inmates had escaped from the home earlier by breaking the emergency exit at midnight but they were later arrested and brought back by the police. "Inmates at protection homes are brought in after their parents refused to accept them. The human rights organizations in the Kingdom have demanded that these inmates have the freedom to go out of the homes whenever they wish, as a protection home cannot be run as a prison," said the source. The source said the ministry organizes trips to give inmates the chance to go out and enjoy.
