COVID-19: Dubai Police provide repatriation tickets to 1,145 inmates

Dubai: Dubai Central Jail has provided 1,145 airline tickets to inmates in DUbai to return to their home countries after serving their jail terms during the first half of 2020, an official from Dubai Police said.

Brigadier Ali Al Shammali, Director of the General Department of Punitive and Correctional Institutions at Dubai Police, said the department launched an initiative to facilitate the return of inmates to their families by providing airline tickets.

“In cooperation with charities and donors, more than Dh1.5 million was paid for airline tickets to 1,145 inmates during the first six months of 2020. Dubai Police are keen on reuniting the inmates [with their families] and ensuring their safety, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Al Shammali said in a statement.

Providing tickets is part of the various annual humanitarian initiatives undertaken by Dubai Police for the welfare of inmates.

“These initiatives include sponsoring tuition fees, residential costs, medical equipment, blood money, as well as providing food assistance and distributing Eid clothes and school bags,” Al Shammali added.