Inmates enjoy dinner with their families

The Sharjah Punitive and Rehabilitation Centre on Monday launched online video conferencing for inmates and their families across the UAE as part of the fourth GCC Inmates Week. The system, the first of its kind in UAE and Middle East, allows scheduled 30-minute interactions and saves families the hassle of having to physically visit the Centre.

Brigadier Saif Mohammad Al Ziri Al Shamsi, commander–in-chief of Sharjah Police, told Gulf News, “Detention is a hardship for families and loved ones. [This initiative] is a reward for the inmates.”

Brigadier Al Shamsi said that the Centre focuses on redemption and helping the inmate to reform his life, engage with the community and get a job. As such, he said, opportunities like these help the inmate see that he is not being neglected.

Colonel Khalifa Mohammad Al Merri, acting director of the Sharjah Punitive Establishments Department, told Gulf News that inmates from Sharjah as well as other emirates can apply for this visitation.

The GCC Inmates Week also saw around 20 prisoners reunited with their families on Monday evening.

Families of inmates from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Egypt, Jordan were invited by Sharjah Police to spend time with their loved ones over dinner, the latter element being a surprise to the inmates.

The prisoners, many of whom had only seen their families through a glass panel for years, were being rewarded for their good behaviour and being encouraged to be good citizens upon their release.

The reunion was organised by Sharjah Police and Air Arabia, which offered free tickets for families, and Sharjah’s Emirates Palace Hotel, which provided free accommodation and meals for seven days.

“Emotions were raw as many of them had not seen their families for a long time,” Colonel Khalifa Al Merri, acting director of Sharjah Punitive Establishments Department told Gulf News.

He said the main aim of the Open Day was to bring families and inmates together and encourage focus on acceptance, support and reconciliation.

An Arab inmate serving time for a drugs-related crime was excited to see his mother, brother and sister whom he had not seen in a year.

His mother said: “They brought us from Saudi Arabia; when they rang me, I burst into tears.”

The 26-year-old inmate, an engineering student, is sentenced to four years in jail followed by deportation. “I ruined my future due to bad company,” he said but is determined now to steer clear of his past.

Colonel Al Merri told Gulf News that inmates’ programmes are funded in part through a partnership between Sharjah Police and Sharjah Charity Association and the Farj Fund.

“We are happy to see the inmates have fun and enjoy their time. This will help them in the rehabilitation process and reunite them with society,” he said

“We focus on inmates who have served medium and long-time [when it comes to] seeing their families.” Sharjah Police also organised tourist visits for inmates’ families in the emirate of Sharjah.

Other activities organised by the Centre as part of the Inmates Week were sports competitions between inmates and Al Wasel Club and students at the Sharjah University City .

The week-long event, which concludes on December 26, was held under the slogan ‘Together to achieve reform’.

The ceremony was attended by Brigadier Hamad Khamis Al Dhaheri, Deputy Head of the Punitive and Correctional Establishments Department at the Ministry of Interior, Brigadier Al Shamsi, Colonel Al Merri, Lieutenant Colonel Mona Surour, Director of Sharjah Women’s Jail, as well as media representatives and a number of foreign and Arab diplomats.