Article 25 of the Saudi Implementing Regulations of the Criminal Procedure Law
المادة 25 من اللائحة التنفيذية لنظام الإجراءات الجزائية · الفصل الثاني: القبض على المتهم
The article regulates the Authority's oversight of prisons and detention places, what to do on finding someone held unlawfully, receipt of complaints, the daily report, and the contents of the registers.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
1 - إذا تبين لعضو الهيئة المختص بزيارة السجون وأماكن التوقيف وجود مسجون أو موقوف بصفة غير مشروعة، فعليه الرفع عن ذلك لرئيس دائرة التحقيق التي يتبعها لاتخاذ اللازم وفقاً للمادة (الأربعين) من النظام.
2 - إذا سلّم الموقوف أو المسجون شكواه لأحد أعضاء الهيئة المختصين بزيارة السجون وأماكن التوقيف؛ فيُعطى ما يُثبت تسلمها.
3 - يخضع كل مكان خصص للتوقيف أو السجن - وما في حكمهما - لرقابة وتفتيش الهيئة وفق هذا النظام ونظام هيئة التحقيق والادعاء العام.
4 - على إدارة التوقيف رفع بيان يومي إلى الهيئة بأسماء الموقوفين، وأوقات توقيفهم، وأسبابه، والمدة التي أمضاها كل منهم.
5 - على إدارة السجن وإدارة التوقيف أن تضمن سجل السجن أو سجل مكان التوقيف المشار إليه في المادة (الثامنة والثلاثين) من النظام اسم المسجون أو الموقوف - بحسب الأحوال - وتاريخ سجنه أو توقيفه ومدته، ورقم الحكم الصادر بحق المحكوم عليه وتاريخه، ورقم أمر التوقيف أو تنفيذ السجن وتاريخه، والجهة التي أمرت به.
6 - السجلات المشار إليها في المادة (الثامنة والثلاثين) من النظام تكون ورقية أو إلكترونية، ويكون الاتصال بالمسجونين أو الموقوفين وسماع شكواهم بأي طريقة مناسبة تحددها الهيئة.
This is the official Arabic wording, the only legally binding version. We do not translate the law itself; the explanation below is ours. Official source: Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers
Article 25 explained in plain English
This article of the Regulations sets a framework for the oversight of the Authority (the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution) over prisons and places of detention, and protects those imprisoned or detained without a basis:
- Unlawful detention: if it appears to the member of the Authority responsible for the visit that a prisoner or detainee is held unlawfully, he must submit this to the head of the investigation circuit he belongs to, to take what is necessary under Article 40 of the Law.
- Proof of receiving the complaint: if the detainee or prisoner hands his complaint to the visiting member of the Authority, he is given what proves its receipt.
- Scope of oversight: every place designated for detention or imprisonment, and anything equivalent, is subject to the Authority's oversight and inspection under the Law and the law of the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution.
- Daily report: the detention department must submit a daily report to the Authority with the names of the detainees, the times of their detention and its reasons, and the period each has spent.
- Contents of the register: the prison or detention register referred to in Article 38 of the Law contains: the name, the date and duration of imprisonment or detention, the number and date of the judgment for the convicted person, the number and date of the detention order or the execution of imprisonment, and the body that ordered it.
- Form of registers and communication: registers are paper or electronic, and contact with prisoners and detainees and hearing their complaints is by any suitable means the Authority specifies.
It is followed by Article 26, which regulates the oral complaint to the director and the complaints register. Anyone who believes his relative is detained without a basis is advised to consult a lawyer specializing in criminal cases.
Practical example
During a visit by a member of the Authority to a detention house in Abha, a detainee handed him a written complaint saying that his period of detention had ended. The detainee is given what proves receipt of his complaint. And if it appears to the member that his detention is unlawful, he must submit this to the head of the investigation circuit to take what is necessary.
Translated from our Arabic explanation with machine assistance. For guidance only; it does not replace advice from a lawyer on your situation.
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Frequently asked questions about Article 25 of the Saudi Implementing Regulations of the Criminal Procedure Law
What happens if the Prosecution finds a detainee held without a basis?
The visiting member of the Authority must submit this to the head of the investigation circuit he belongs to, to take what is necessary under Article 40 of the Law.
Does the prisoner get proof that his complaint was handed in?
Yes. If he hands his complaint to the member of the Authority responsible for the visit, he is given what proves its receipt.
What is recorded about a detainee in the detention register?
His name, the date and duration of his detention, the number and date of the detention order or execution of imprisonment and the body that ordered it, and the number and date of the judgment for the convicted person.
More articles on Rights of the Accused and Detainee
- Article 20
The article fixes the start of the twenty-four-hour period in Article 34 of the Law: from the time of arrest for the criminal investigation officer, and from the time the accused reaches him for the investigator.
تبدأ مهلة الأربع والعشرين ساعة المشار إليها في المادة (الرابعة والثلاثين) من النظام بالنسبة لرجل الضبط الجنائي من وقت القبض على المتهم، وتبدأ المهلة بالنسبة للم
- Article 22
The article requires informing the accused on arrest or detention of its reasons, his right to a representative or lawyer, and his right to contact whomever he wishes to notify, and obtaining his signature.
يجب أن يعرّف المتهم عند القبض عليه أو توقيفه بما يأتي: أ) أسباب القبض عليه أو توقيفه. ب) حقه في الاستعانة بوكيل أو محام في مرحلتي التحقيق والمحاكمة. ج) حقه في ا
- Article 23
The article explains that enabling a detainee to contact whomever he wishes to notify is by the method the officer or investigator assesses, and that notifying the detained employee's superior is done by whoever ordered his continued detention.
1- يُمكّن الموقوف من الاتصال بمن يرى إبلاغه بالطريقة التي يقدرها رجل الضبط الجنائي أو المحقق بحسب حالة كل قضية وملابساتها. 2 - يكون إبلاغ مرجع الموظف الموقوف -
- Article 26
The article requires the prison or detention director to draw up a record of an oral complaint and report it to the Authority's member, and requires visiting members to check the complaints register and sign it.
1- إذا قدم المسجون أو الموقوف شكوى شفهية إلى مدير السجن أو التوقيف؛ فيعد المدير محضراً بذلك موقعاً من المشتكي يتضمن ما ذكره من تظلم وأسبابه، ويلحق بالشكوى ملخص
- Article 27
The article allows reporting orally or in writing a person held unlawfully or in an undesignated place even if the reporter has no interest, and requires the Authority to send a member at once.
1- يُقبل الإبلاغ عن وجود مسجون أو موقوف بصفة غير مشروعة أو في مكان غير مخصص للسجن أو التوقيف بحسب ما نصت عليه المادة (الأربعون) من النظام؛ مشافهةً أو كتابة، ولو
- Article 40
The article makes notifying the accused of the contents of letters, postal and telegraph messages under Article 59 of the Law the task of the investigator or whoever he delegates.
يكون تبليغ المتهم بمضمون الخطابات والرسائل البريدية والبرقية - وفقاً للمادة (التاسعة والخمسين) من النظام - عن طريق المحقق أو من يندبه.
The texts are reproduced from the official website of the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers for reference; where they differ, the officially published Arabic text prevails. This content is not legal advice.