RIYADH: Many inmates in Riyadh’s Malaz prison have complained that they were detained in the jail even after the end of their stipulated terms, according to a report published in Al-Watan newspaper yesterday.

The inmates made their complaints to a team from the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) who visited the jail on Saturday.

“The NSHR members found that many wards in the jail were noticeably crowded, raising concerns about inmates’ health,” said NSHR Vice President Saleh Al-Khathlan in a statement after the visit.

Besides Al-Khathlan, the team consisted of Ahmed Turkistan, an NSHR member, and legal expert Abdullah Al-Shaye. The men met with a number of prisoners and listened to their complaints.

“The inmates’ complaints included poor ventilation of cells and wards and lack of exposure to sunlight besides several of them being detained in the jail after the completion of their stipulated term,” Al-Khathlan said.

Many detainees told the NSHR that they have not been taken to their court hearings, which led to situations where the courts passed judgments in their absence, said Al-Khathlan.

Another complaint was that the inmates were not taken to hospital when they actually needed medical attention though they were taken for periodic checkups, Al-Khathlan said.

Col. Falah Al-Subaie, director of Al-Malaz prison, told the visiting team that the jail did not have sufficient employees to escort the prisoners when they wanted to go to court or hospital.

Al-Khathlan noted that the jail’s health center lacks specialists whose attention was essential, particularly when the rate of tuberculosis (a highly infectious disease caused by bacteria that can be transmitted by coughing or sneezing) was high among inmates.

The visiting team observed that the jail staff did not get incentives to serve as a motivation for excellent service.

The team visited some selected wards, clinics and other facilities.

The delegation members expressed appreciation for efforts made by the Prisons Directorate to improve the conditions inside jails.