Mishal Al-Otaibi Saudi Gazette RIYADH — There are about 47,000 male and female prisoners in Saudi Arabia, according to the director general of prisons. Maj. Gen. Ali Bin Hussain Al-Harithy did not specify the number of female prisoners but said Saudi women only accounted for around 7 percent of all incarcerated women and were imprisoned mainly for minor crimes. He said some 24,000 of the prisoners are foreigners. “About 47 percent of inmates were incarcerated for drug-related crimes,” he said. Addressing a function held by the Directorate General of Prisons on Sunday at the club of security officers in Riyadh to honor retirees, Al-Harithy revealed four new reformatories have been constructed and will be operational early next year. He said nine others will be built in the next two years. “Each reformatory consists of 24 units and will accommodate more than 5,000 prisoners.” He said surveillance cameras would be installed in the new penitentiaries to maintain the safety and security of inmates. He also said the prison authorities were currently liaising with mobile network companies to exclude prisons from mobile network coverage. Al-Harithy said the Kingdom has no plans to impose hard labor on prisoners but they may be working in 120 factories that have been established by the Saudi Industrial Property Authority (MODON). The factories will be operational from early next year. He said many people from outside would be working in these factories and special incubators were built inside them for prisoners to work.
