The Director-General of Verdict Enforcement and Alternative Sentencing Shaikh Khalid bin Rashid Al Khalifa asserted that the royal pardon of hundreds of convicts in different cases reflects the inspiring leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and his fatherhood and humanitarian spirit for citizens. The pardon is part of the royal vision and expresses the reform era's principles, meeting Bahrain's tolerance, humanitarian, national, and civilised values.
He highlighted that during a phone interview on Bahrain TV, in which he hailed the support of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister and his dedication to help the beneficiaries of the pardons and alternative sanctions to reintegrate into society within the criminal justice system, including his directives to provide them with training and rehabilitation programme and suitable job opportunities for those covered in the pardon.
Regarding replacing imprisonment with alternative sanctions for 210 inmates of the reformation and rehabilitation centre and 47 inmates in the open prisons programme, he said that including more beneficiaries would boost the human rights process. He revealed that since the endorsement of the Alternative Sanctions and Measures Law in 2018, around 6703 individuals benefited. He said that the increase in the number of beneficiaries was part of the royal directives to expand the implementation of the law and instructions of His Excellency Interior Minister to provide services and rehabilitation programmes for the beneficiaries. He affirmed that Bahrain is on the right track in this regard.
He highlighted the model and successful beginning of the open prisons programme, where 47 inmates joined and were offered well-studied rehabilitation programmes. He revealed that some beneficiaries were sentenced to life imprisonment. This showcases the programme's success in counting on the rehabilitation concept by replacing jail terms with alternative sanctions to give hope to the beneficiaries and put them on the right path by allowing them to be corrected and stay away from crimes.
He highlighted that the alternative sanctions project and the open prisons programme achieved many remarkable successes by providing education, training and correction plans. He noted that Bahrain has one of the lowest global rates in the return of crime, as low as 2.5% of total beneficiaries of the alternative sanctions programme.
