Jail prisoners commemorate UAE martyrs

Sharjah: As a part of the fourth GCC Inmates Week, inmates of the Sharjah Punitive and Rehabilitation Centre commemorated the UAE’s martyrs.

The centre honoured the bravery of those who sacrificed their lives defending the sovereignty of the nation. The officials also planted a ‘martyr’s tree’ at the centre. A ‘martyr’s library’ and learning centre were also inaugurated at the centre.

The event aims to help the inmates understand the spirit of sacrifice and inspire them to abandon their wrong ways and think in terms of positive contributions to their nation.

Colonel Khalifa Al Merri, acting director of Sharjah Punitive and Rehabilitation Centre, told Gulf News, “We will honour the memory of all those who have given their lives for their homeland in civil, military and humanitarian fields in all our activities and celebrations … They will stay alive forever,” he said.

“This year, the UAE joins many other countries that have dedicated an annual day to honour their heroes. Commemoration Day (which was observed on November 30) is important to mark and celebrate so that every generation remembers the heroes and their sacrifices,” Col. Al Merri said.

He said this sense of nationalism needs to be shared with inmates as “we aim to reform them”. The focus, he said, is on redemption and helping the inmates reform and engage fruitfully with the community.

The family of martyr Waleed Al Yassi, including his two children, attended the ceremony and were honoured.

Ali Al Yassi, the martyr’s cousin, told Gulf News that Waleed’s wife has been blessed with a newborn and they named him Waleed.

A.E., an Emirati inmate, told Gulf News, “Commemoration Day is a landmark national occasion, a day on which we take [the martyrs] as our role models. I regret having wasted my life [doing bad deeds],” he said.

Captain Abdul Raheem Nasser Al Zarouni, of the Sharjah Police Air Wing, told Gulf News that the department had set up a tent in the facility with a simulator that helped inmates know how it was to fly a helicopter.

Dozens of inmates and their families took part in this activity and thoroughly enjoyed themselves, he added.

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

The ceremony was attended by ColAl Merri, Lieutenant Colonel Mona Surour, Director of Sharjah Women’s Jail, mufti Aziz Farhan Al Enizi, as well as media representatives and a number of foreign and Arab diplomats.