36% of Saudi female ex-convicts return to crime

Riyadh: About 36 per cent of convicted Saudi women, who served various jail terms, returned to their crimes after their release. "This was mainly attributed to the apathy on the part of their family members in receiving them and supporting them to start a new life," according to a Saudi female researcher.

Dr Badriya Al Otaibi, a researcher of Imam Muhammad Bin Saud Islamic University, carried out the study after conducting surveys among some 153 released women prisoners, recently. The study showed that most of their crimes include immoral acts. These were followed by domestic violence, abuse of drugs, murder and economic crimes, she said.

Dr Badriya Al Otaibi urged authorities of prison departments and rehabilitation centres to increase the frequency of their visits to the families of such ex-prisoners to ensure their rehabilitation and solve psychological problems, if any, among the released women in their dealings with family members and relatives.

She recommended that lawyers be appointed in case families abandon these women so that they can have access to shelter and a monthly allowance under the social guarantee scheme.