Mishal Al-Otaibi Saudi Gazette RIYADH — Nearly 90 percent of inmates at Prince Muhammad Bin Naif Center for Counseling and Care were able to lead a normal life, according to the Ministry of Interior. Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, the ministry's security spokesman, said: “Those who abandoned the deviant ideology are now building a new life and are on their way to integrating into society. “Not to mention, they are trying their best to forget their past.” Al-Turki was speaking to reporters after making an inspection tour of the new premises of the center on Tuesday in the company of journalists. Interior Minister Prince Muhammad Bin Naif opened the new facilities of the center on Monday night. The minister inspected the center's educational, cultural, sports and recreational facilities. He also toured the facilities, which include 12 buildings constructed on an area of 134,464 square meters. The new center was constructed as part of the plan to build five permanent centers in various regions of the Kingdom, of which the Riyadh and Jeddah centers have already been opened. The new Riyadh center consists of rest houses for those who have benefited from the program, facilities to receive relatives, a lecture hall, classrooms, laboratories, workshop for various trades, sports centers, a health clinic, a central kitchen, and a laundry. The center is the brainchild of Prince Muhammad bin Naif, who is in charge of the Kingdom's anti-terror campaign. Started in 2004, the center is manned by Islamic scholars, psychiatrists, sociologists and psychologists. After visiting the facility, Al-Turki said the programs at the center were aimed at rehabilitating the inmates to enable them to lead a good life. He said the program does not have any magic wand and therefore it is not absolutely certain that all those entering the center will come out rehabilitated. “However, we are making all endeavors on the basis of an academic program aimed at enabling inmates to recognize their mistakes and fully convincing them that they need to embrace a corrective path. “We make available to them all opportunities, facilities, programs and information that help them return to a normal life.” Al-Turki said there are no coercive measures being practiced at the center. Maj. Gen. Saeed Al-Bishi, director general of the center, said there were no negative signs noticed from the last batch of inmates who were undergoing the corrective program at present. He said: “We follow four major criteria when determining the release of inmates and they are related to intellectual, psychological, social and behavioral aspects. “We draw the inference on the basis of questionnaires and scientific methods in psychological, sociological and legal fields.” He pointed out that there were specialists in their respective fields who would interview the inmates and those who secure a certain grade would eventually be released. According to Al-Bishi, there is a committee to classify the inmates at the time of their registration on the basis of their age, academic and intellectual levels. He said: “We are striving hard to put members of each category in separate areas at the center and provide them with intensive guidance and rehabilitation programs. “In the cases of those who are still found following their deviant ideology after transferring from prisons, we follow a legal mechanism.” Those who abandon their ideology and repent will be registered for correction programs while others will not be entertained, he said.
