In force Last amended 1/5/1435 AH
Saudi Prisons and Detention Law
نظام السجن والتوقيف
The Prisons and Detention Law of Saudi Arabia. This page presents the official Arabic text of each article with plain-English explanations for residents and businesses.
- Articles
- 31
- In force
- 31
- Amended
- 3
- Issued
- 21/6/1398 AH
Issued by: مرسوم ملكي رقم م/31 بتاريخ 21 / 6 / 1398 · قرار مجلس الوزراء رقم 441 بتاريخ 8 / 6 / 1398
Each article shows the official Arabic text, which is the only legally binding version, followed by our plain-English explanation.
Browse Prisons and Detention Law by topic
Prisons and Detention Houses and Their Oversight7 articlesImprisoning National Security Cases and Foreigners1 articleAdmission to Prison and Release7 articlesConditional Release and Reduced Sentences3 articlesRights of Prisoners and Detainees6 articlesPregnant Prisoners and Their Children3 articlesMedical Release and Death of a Prisoner2 articlesDisciplinary Penalties under the Prison Law1 articleUse of Weapons and Assault on Prisoners2 articlesPenalty for Smuggling Prisoners and Contraband1 article
Articles of the Saudi Prisons and Detention Law
- Article 1The article provides that prison sentences are carried out in prisons, and anyone subject to a detention order from the competent authorities is placed in detention centers, under this Law and its Regulations, without prejudice to the rules on treating juveniles.
- Article 2The Minister of Interior establishes by decisions separate prisons and detention centers for men and women according to the needs of the Kingdom's regions, and the Regulations set the rules for their administration, guarding and safety.
- Article 3A General Directorate of Prisons affiliated with the Ministry of Interior supervises carrying out sentences and detention orders in the Kingdom's regions through its own bodies, as the Regulations determine.
- Article 4The Minister of Interior may order foreign prisoners and detainees to be held in special places or sections, and the Head of State Security has special powers in national security crimes, including issuing a statement about a prisoner.Amended
- Article 5Prisons and detention facilities are subject to judicial, administrative, health and social inspection, in accordance with the Implementing Regulations.
- Article 6The Minister of Interior establishes by decision a Supreme Council of Prisons to study the development of prisons and detention facilities and propose ways to combat delinquency and repeat offending, choosing its members from different specializations.
- Article 7No one may be placed in prison or detention, transferred or released except by a written order from the competent authority, and no prisoner or detainee may stay after the period stated in his commitment order ends.
- Article 8Every prisoner or detainee must be searched before entry, and his money and valuables must be placed in the safe to be handed to him upon release or to the person he designates.
- Article 9What a prisoner or detainee hides or refuses to hand over, and what someone else tries to secretly get to him in prison, is confiscated.
- Article 10The Implementing Regulations set the rules for classifying prisoners by type and seriousness of crime, repetition and length of sentence, and the bases that make their rehabilitation easier.
- Article 11A convict whose stay in prison exceeds four years must go through a transition period before release, counted as part of the sentence, to make it easier to integrate him into society.
- Article 12The Implementing Regulations set rules for visits, correspondence and the treatment of detainees, including food at their own expense and their own clothing, and the Minister of Interior may grant some of these privileges to a category of convicts.
- Article 13A pregnant female prisoner or detainee receives special treatment in food and work from the appearance of pregnancy symptoms until forty days after delivery, in accordance with the Implementing Regulations.
- Article 14A pregnant female prisoner or detainee is transferred to the hospital as delivery approaches and stays there until she delivers and the doctor permits her to leave.
- Article 15A child stays with his imprisoned or detained mother until he is two years old, then is handed to his father or to the person entitled to custody under Sharia after the mother, or is placed in a child care institution if no one can support him.
- Article 16The employment of prisoners and detainees follows rules set by the Ministry of Interior jointly with the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.
- Article 17Prison and detention administrations must ensure a Muslim can perform his religious rites and provide the means, and each must have one or more religious counselors and one or more social and psychological specialists.
- Article 18The Ministry of Interior sets education curricula in prisons with the competent authorities, the Implementing Regulations set examination rules, a library is established, and prisoners may bring in books and newspapers at their own expense.
- Article 19The Ministry of Interior, in coordination with the competent authorities, sets social service programs inside prisons and detention facilities and for the families of prisoners and detainees.
- Article 20The article sets the penalties for a prisoner or detainee who violates order: solitary confinement up to 15 days and loss of privileges, with harsher measures for repetition, and restraints not exceeding 72 hours.
- Article 21An administrative procedure may not delay the release of a prisoner or detainee beyond the set time.
- Article 22The Implementing Regulations set the rules on social and health care, treatment inside and outside prisons, exemption from work and health-related release, with periodic examination of the person released.
- Article 23When a prisoner or detainee dies a detailed medical report is prepared and submitted by the prison director, the family is notified to receive the body, or else it is buried in a local cemetery, and a body with an epidemic disease is not transferred.
- Article 24A prisoner or detainee is released before noon on the day after his sentence or period of detention ends, unless a general pardon provides otherwise, in which case he is released at the time set by the pardon decision.
- Article 25The Minister of Interior may grant conditional release to someone who has served three quarters of his sentence under conditions, and may set an additional pardon of up to 15% for someone who completes education or vocational training programs.Amended M/45
- Article 26The period a detainee spends in a detention facility is deducted from the sentence imposed on him.
- Article 27Prison officials and guards may use firearms against prisoners or detainees to repel an attack or forceful resistance or to prevent escape when other means fail, firing into the air first.
- Article 28Assault on prisoners or detainees of any kind is prohibited, and disciplinary action is taken against employees who commit it, without prejudice to criminal penalties if the assault is a crime.
- Article 29Anyone who brings or tries to bring weapons, drugs or prohibited items into prisons, or smuggles or tries to smuggle out a prisoner, is punished with up to five years' imprisonment, and up to ten years if he works at or guards the facility.
- Article 30The Minister of Interior issues the Implementing Regulations of the Prisons and Detention Law.
- Article 31The Prisons and Detention Law takes effect from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.