Government agencies are working closely with foreign diplomatic missions to identify and release expatriate prisoners currently serving jail terms for petty crimes following an amnesty announced by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman.
The embassies and the consulates are optimistic about the prospects of the release of hundreds of prisoners currently detained in different jails around the country.
In the first phase, a group of about 2,500 Saudi prisoners were released. Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad bin Naif, second deputy premier and minister of interior, has issued directives to provincial governors to promptly prepare the list of beneficiaries of amnesty and refer their names to the authorities concerned. The Directorate General for Prisons has also begun completing procedures for the release of foreign nationals.
Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Al-Hamzi, director general of prisons, said the prisoners of different nationalities would benefit from the royal order in all regions of the Kingdom. “The Philippine Embassy is hopeful that a large number of Filipinos will benefit,” said Philippine Ambassador Ezzedin H. Tago, while thanking King Salman for his humanitarian gesture. “More than 400 Filipino workers are currently behind bars in the Kingdom,” said the envoy.
“India, too, may be one of the major beneficiaries in this amnesty case,” said Hemant H. Kotalwar, deputy chief of mission at the Embassy of India.
Kotalwar pointed out that the total number of Indians in Saudi jails would not exceed 1,500 at any given moment. “Many of them have been charged for petty crimes,” said the diplomat. “We are hopeful that many Indian prisoners will be set free as per the provisions of the royal clemency,” he said.
Asked about the status of Nepali prisoners, Udaya Raj Pandey, Nepali ambassador, said: “Nepali and other embassies of labor exporting countries are trying to find out details of the amnesty, including the categories of foreign prisoners to be released. We have less than 200 workers currently in Saudi jails,” confirmed the Nepali diplomat.
Regarding the Sri Lankan prisoners, an official at the island state’s embassy said the total number of Sri Lankans in the Saudi prisons is about 150.
“Of course, we expect many of them to be released following the royal pardon,” said the official.
Many Saudi jails are clogged because of the growing number of foreigners currently serving prison terms of varying length.
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