(MENAFN - Arab News) Saudi Arabia has launched a pioneering prisoners' locator system, which will deliver information about the health conditions and the legal status of prisoners to their respective families. This site, called "Window for communication," provides Internet users with information about a wide variety of offenders who are currently in jails on terror-related charges across the Kingdom.
The website, which delivers information about prisoners, has been launched on an experimental basis.
"The move to provide information on portals will satisfy scores of Saudi families and friends of prisoners who have been demanding information about their relatives currently in jail," said Dr. Ibrahim Al-Quaid, a member of the National Society of Human Rights here yesterday. Dr. Al-Qauid said: "It is indeed good news and it will help to speed up the legal process, making the whole prison system more transparent."
The ministry launched the website on an experimental basis Sunday where the families of prisoners will track the condition of prisoners and their procedural updates, visit hours and approvals through SMS. The system will facilitate the issuance of visit permits for families, lawyers and human rights activists. The site will also give detailed information about a prisoner to his family or lawyers, including the date, place and reasons of arrest.
The families of the prisoners will be able to submit requests to release the prisoners on parole for certain social occasions that will, hopefully, have a positive psychosocial and moral impact on prisoners and their families. The new system will help families learn about the practicalities of the prison system and about the best ways to deal with the concerns and questions dealing with the prisoners.
A total of 2,772 Saudi citizens and 551 expatriates are held in security prisons across the country. It was not immediately known whether the prisoner tracking system will be applicable in the case of foreigners. A total of 178 people have been arrested in Qatif over the last several months, while 161 people were arrested in Buraidah a few weeks back following illegal demonstrations.
