Dubai: Inmates at Dubai central jail are complaining about the ban of coffee in jail, sources told Gulf News.
The ban, which started a month ago, upset many prisoners, who are urging the authorities to reconsider their decision, which was made after wardens discovered that some prisoners were using the beverage to draw graffiti on the walls of their cells.
“The prisoners had spoiled the walls by painting on them with coffee so we took the decision to ban coffee,” police said.
However, a prisoner said this group was a tiny minority of men who share the same ward.
Another prisoner added that drinking coffee was one of the few enjoyable things about life in jail. “I don’t see why everyone has to suffer because of a small group who used it to draw on their walls,” he said. “They didn’t draw anything indecent and there weren’t given any warning.”
The coffee was sold in a supermarket inside the jail but was taken off the shelves following the ban, which created a thriving black market for the drink because inmates were able to sell their stashes at an inflated price.
One prisoner said some inmates rely on coffee and without it sometimes suffer from headaches and have trouble staying focused.
