A team of National Society for Human Rights was planning a visit to Taif prison to evaluate the conditions there. The team's visit comes in the wake of a hunger strike since Thursday by 45 inmates over bureaucratic delay in their release procedures. Announcing the visit, Dr. Hasan Al-Shareef, NSHR Director in Makkah, urged prison authorities to find a peaceful solution to the problem, adding that the society was looking into ways to accelerate procedures and shorten the stay of this group of prisoners while guaranteeing the rights of other parties. Meanwhile, Brig. Khalaf Al-Qurashi, chief of Taif Prison, has denied moving some of the hunger striking prisoners to health centers and said all prisoners were in good health. Al-Qurashi said the authorities were making every effort to convince inmates to end their strike. – Okaz __
