Attorney advocates alternative penalty system

Khalid Al-Nowaiser

By ARAB NEWS

Published: Aug 26, 2010 

JEDDAH: A Saudi attorney called for a law eliminating imprisonment as a penalty for infringing upon certain private rights as part of efforts to modernize the country’s legal system.

Cases involving debts and nonviolent offenses (other than fraud, theft, bounced checks and alimony cases) should not lead to the imprisonment of an offender, said Khalid Al-Nowaiser.

Creditors should call for other remedies rather than imprisonment of debtors who can’t pay back their loans, he added.

Al-Nowaiser suggested alternatives to imprisonment, such as seizing assets or establishing liens, a travel ban on the offender, the freezing of bank accounts or garnishing wages. By employing these means, creditors would be fully protected without denying the debtor his ability to earn a living to pay back the debt.

Al-Nowaiser added that the bail of indemnity should be canceled and replaced by a financial bail, because the bail of indemnity is a clear and direct call for imprisonment, not only for debtors but also for their guarantors. As a result, both he who incurs the debt and the person who guarantees it expose themselves to the possibility of imprisonment, thus affecting their families, friends and employers. He said that a prison is a place for criminals, fraudsters and cheaters, not for insolvent persons.

He added that there are many negative consequences arising from imprisonment, because one’s incarceration becomes a gateway to criminality, mental illness and exposure to violence.

Meanwhile, the family of the imprisoned debtor loses the income and the support of the family member. Al-Nowaiser said the cost of incarceration is about SR11,000 per month per prisoner.