Relatives' visits to inmates to continue as usual

Manama, May 27 (BNA): Reformation and Rehabilitation Director Colonel Nasser Bakheet has affirmed that visits of the relatives of inmates at the Reform and Rehabilitation Centre in Jaw, and the Dry Dock Remand Centre will continue as usual, from Sunday to Thursday. He explained that relatives can arrange the visits by calling the booking department, or reporting personally from 07:00 to 17:00 on official working days, adding that items to be handed to inmates should be delivered also from Sunday to Thursday and from 7 am to 5 pm through the special service. In addition to the regular two monthly visits by relatives, inmates may exceptionally be allowed to visit their relatives in cases of the death of a close relative or for any other humanitarian emergency. In such cases, a special order is issued by the Reformation and Rehabilitation Directorate according to certain rules, he noted. He added that visits to inmates take place between 08:00 and 16:00. Colonel Bakheet asserted that upgrading the Reformation and Rehabilitation Directorate to a Generate Directorate, comprising four directorates, is an important move that would contribute to improving the quality of services provided for inmates, adding that the performance, installations and facilities will be better, and that more programmes to train human resources on the latest equipment will be implemented. On relations with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), he said that under the agreement signed between the two sides, ICRC representatives may pay programmed or exceptional visits to reformation and rehabilitation centres in order to be informed about the conditions of the inmates, noting that the Reformation and Rehabilitation Directorate is doing its utmost to ease procedures for them so that they can assume their responsibilities.