Article 19 of the Saudi Prisons and Detention Law
المادة 19 من نظام السجن والتوقيف
The 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.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
تضع وزارة الداخلية بالتنسيق مع الجهات المختصة برامج للخدمة الاجتماعية داخل السجون ودور التوقيف ، ولأسر المسجونين والموقوفين.
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 19 explained in plain English
This article deals with social service programs, and it is notable that they extend beyond the prison walls:
- The responsible authority: the Ministry of Interior in coordination with the competent authorities.
- The beneficiaries:
- Inmates inside prisons and detention facilities.
- The families of prisoners and detainees.
The importance of this article is that it recognizes that the effect of imprisonment or detention is not limited to the person himself but reaches his family, and so it gives these families a share of the social service programs.
The article does not specify the type of these programs, the conditions for benefiting from them, or the competent authorities with which coordination takes place; these are matters the text does not mention. Anyone who wishes to know the programs available to his family should refer to the prison administration or the competent authorities.
The article comes after Article (18), which deals with curricula for education and cultural instruction inside prisons and detention facilities, examination rules, the library and bringing in books and newspapers, and before Article (20), which sets the penalties that may be imposed on a prisoner or detainee who violates order inside the prison or detention facility, such as solitary confinement for a period not exceeding fifteen days and deprivation of visit and correspondence privileges.
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 19 of the Saudi Prisons and Detention Law
Are there programs to help prisoners' families?
The article provides that the Ministry of Interior, in coordination with the competent authorities, sets social service programs for the families of prisoners and detainees.
Who sets social service programs in prisons?
The Ministry of Interior, in coordination with the competent authorities.
More articles on Rights of Prisoners and Detainees
- Article 10
The 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.
تضع اللائحة التنفيذية قواعد تقسيم المسجونين وفقا لنوع الجرائم المحكوم عليهم من أجلها وخطورتها وتكرار ارتكابها ووفقا لمدد العقوبة وللأسس التي تيسر تقويم المحكوم
- Article 12
The 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.
تحدد اللائحة التنفيذية قواعد زيارة المسجونين والموقوفين ومراسلاتهم كما تضع قواعد معاملة الموقوفين وجواز حصولهم على طعام على نفقتهم الخاصة وارتدائهم زيهم الخاص ف
- Article 16
The employment of prisoners and detainees follows rules set by the Ministry of Interior jointly with the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.
يكون تشغيل المسجونين والموقوفين وفق قواعد تضعها وزارة الداخلية بالاشتراك مع وزارة العمل والشئون الاجتماعية .
- Article 17
Prison 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.
يجب على إدارات السجون ودور التوقيف أن تكفل محافظة المسلم في السجن أو دار التوقيف على إقامة شعائره الدينية الإسلامية وأن تهيئ له الوسائل اللازمة لأدائها. ويكون ل
- Article 18
The 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.
تضع وزارة الداخلية بالاتفاق مع الجهات المختصة المسئولة عن التعليم والتوعية مناهج التعليم والتثقيف داخل السجون ودور التوقيف . وتحدد اللائحة التنفيذية قواعد وإجرا
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.