Nearly 1,800 inmates have been released from jail over the past two months after receiving non-custodial sentences including those pardoned for humanitarian reasons.
On the 1,793 prisoners freed from prison, 901 were pardoned while 892 received alternative punishments.
The information was provided by Attorney General Dr Ali bin Fadhel Al Buainain yesterday as he revealed that 60 additional inmates had received non-custodial sentences after applying for the Alternatives Punishment Law programme which was enforced at the start of 2018.
“Sixty inmates who do not pose a serious threat to society have been handed alternative punishments,” he said, in a statement.
“Th inmates have already spent half of their sentences behind bars.
“This is all part of procedures to look into prisoners benefiting from the Alternative Punishments Law.
“Besides, it is a humane way to deal with the prisoners under the current circumstances,” he said, referring to the Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
The GDN reported on March 18 that the Reformation and Rehabilitation director-general had announced that all inmates pardoned under the March 12 royal decree have been freed.
These include 901 pardoned on humanitarian grounds and 585 who will serve alternative punishments.
The 585 inmates who have completed half of their sentences will be enrolled in rehabilitation and training programmes and will be obliged to complete alternative punishments.
The prisoners include women, youngsters and patients requiring special care.
The required medical examinations have been completed including tests for the virus.
He had said previously that all inmates had tested negative for the virus.
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