To discuss the situation of prisoners under the Corona epidemic …

The Head of the Supreme Judicial Council meets with the leadership of the Chamber of Commerce and the National Prisoner Foundation

The President of the Supreme Judicial Council, Dr. Ahmed Al-Mutawakkil, met today, Wednesday, the leadership of the Chamber of Commerce and the National Prisoner Foundation to discuss aspects of cooperation between the two sides and discuss the situation of prisons and prisoners, in light of fears of an outbreak of the Corona epidemic.

The meeting, which held in the presence of Mr. Mohamed Salah, President of the Chamber of Commerce, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Prisoner Foundation, Mr. Mohamed Al-Anisi, Secretary-General of the Foundation, Mr. Mohamed Sharp, Chief Financial Officer of the Foundation, Mr.Fadl Obaid, General Manager of the Foundation, and Mr.Abdul-Malik Sharafuddin, Legal Advisor to the Foundation, discussed the status of Prisoners in all the Central Correctional Facilities, Prisons and Detention Centers.

In the meeting, the President of the Supreme Judicial Council appreciated the great role that the National Prisoner Foundation, the Chamber of Commerce and the private sector have shown, and their great cooperation with the official authorities in releasing the insolvent prisoners, and providing the necessary services to the prisoners and prisons, in light of the fears of the spread of the Corona pandemic that threatens the world, including our country.

Al-Mutawakkil reviewed, with the leadership of the Chamber of Commerce and the National Prisoner Foundation, the precautions taken to tackle the Corona epidemic in Prisons and Correctional Facilities, including directing the release of prisoners sentenced to disciplinary penalties, and they spent three quarters of the time in serious crimes, or half the time in non-serious crimes, to mitigate Prison overcrowding in anticipation of any emergency.

The meeting touched on the role of the Chamber of Commerce and the National Prisoner Foundation, as a civil society organization, in promoting partnership and cooperation, working as a team to provide the necessary services to prisoners and prisons to confront the Corona virus, and the effective contribution of all to alleviate the suffering of this segment, warning of the consequences of being indulgent in this matter; the fact that prisons are the most vulnerable places to this epidemic.

The Vice_Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Prisoner Foundation, Mr.Mohamed Mohamed Salah, provided an explanation of the Foundation’s work from its inception in 2013 until today .. He explained that the Foundation worked on rehabilitating sanitation sewages, the Central Prison Dispensary in Sana’a, and releasing about 400 insolvent prisoners during the past years at a cost of up to half One billion Riyals.

Mr.Mohamed Salah pointed out that the Foundation has also, in the framework of judicial aid, which is one of the humanitarian projects that the Foundation provides to prisoners, has contributed to helping insolvent prisoners, and has succeeded in releasing approximately 200 prisoners within the framework of this project.

For his part, the General Manager of the Foundation, Mr.Fadl Obaid, said that the Foundation continues to provide a project for judicial aid to insolvent prisoners. He explained that the Foundation worked to recruiting lawyers to work in the prosecutions and the courts to conduct field surveys to determine the prisoners in need of judicial assistance, according to the conditions previously determined with the relevant authorities.

The National Prisoner Foundation appreciated the positive role and facilitations provided by the official authorities in overcoming the difficulties that face the Foundation, particularly the Supreme Judicial Council … stressing the need to strengthen the partnership to contribute to alleviating the suffering of the prisoners.