ABHA — Prison visitation rights are considered one of the constructive methods of reform and correction as they are known to have positive psychological impacts on inmates. Visits not only enhance prisoners' responsiveness to rehabilitation programs but they also help them improve their behavior and dread returning to prison life. The directorate general of prisons has fixed four days in a week for prison visits split equally among men and women. Tuesdays and Fridays are dedicated for male visitors while women can visit on Sundays and Thursdays. Visitors have three hours — from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. — to visit their incarcerated friends and relatives. Speaking to Al-Riyadh daily, many relatives and friends of inmates said that visitation times were not enough. They called for increasing both the visiting days and hours. According to prison rules, Thursday is the day for conjugal visits for married prisoners. Inmates who have served half of their prison term can spend 24 hours with their spouses. Jamaan Abu Abshaa, director of public relations at Asir prisons, said families were pressing to increase visitation days but had not made this demand officially to the authorities. He said ideal prisoners who have served half of their jail term will be allowed to receive their spouses in private rooms in the prison. "The Shariah-compliant seclusion in prisons takes place on Thursdays. In addition to this, the ideal prisoners can spend up to 24 hours with their wives outside the prison," he said. Abu Abdul Rahman, whose brother is serving a six-month jail term, said he was not able to visit him because he lives in a city far away from the prison. "You can only visit the prisoners on certain days and for limited hours. This made it impossible for me to visit my brother," he said. Brig. Ali Al-Shihri, director of Najran prisons, said visitation days for both male and female inmates were sufficient. He said under certain conditions, prisoners can spend up to 24 hours with their families. "When a prisoner has served half of his jail term and is well-behaved, he will be given permission to visit his family and stay with them for 24 hours," he said. Al-Shihri also said prisoners will be allowed to attend the funeral of their parents and the wedding of their daughters and other women under their custody. "Prisoners who behave well, attend reform courses or memorize the Holy Qur'an will be given many incentives, including paroles to visit families and loved ones," he said. He pointed out that some prisoners refuse to avail themselves of the opportunity to visit their families because they were engaged in training sessions that they did not want to miss. Um Salman, whose son was imprisoned for failing to pay his debts, said she had encountered a number of difficulties to visit him in jail. "I have nobody to take me to the prison. The visiting days are limited. I hope that visits will be allowed during the whole week and not limited to four days," she said. Abu Abshaa said prisoners who enroll in reform programs comprising vocational, cultural, educational and religious lectures can leave the prison to visit their families for 48 hours instead of 24. Furthermore, through good conduct and enrollment in corrective programs, prisoners may be able to commute their jail terms by more than 50 percent. "A prisoner who memorizes the Qur'an, is committed to attending reform programs and is well behaved may have his 10-year prison sentence reduced to four years," he said. Khaled Al-Fakhry, acting secretary general of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR), said prison visits were governed by rules and regulations that were aimed at reforming inmates. He said increasing visitation rights would help prisoners be closer to their families and friends. "The prisoners will realize their mistakes and will be keen not to return to prison life," he said while asking the authorities to increase the incentives for prisoners.
