By MD HUMAIDAN | ARAB NEWS

JEDDAH: A number of judges in Jeddah have started giving alternative punishments instead of imprisonment for crimes on which no clear-cut Shariah rules are available, lawyer Ghazi Al-Sabban, member of the committee to care for prisoners and their families (Tarahum), told Arab News on Monday.

“The committee has suggested 31 alternative punishments for prisoners whose crimes do not require imprisonment and for whom verdicts are left to the discretion of judges,” he said.

Al-Sabban was a former chairman of the department to supervise prisons at the Prosecution and Investigation Commission (PIC).

He said criminals could be asked to pay fines, do social services, be prevented from traveling, have their driving licenses seized, or be deprived of other privileges.

“The current alternative punishment to which some judges resort — asking criminals to memorize chapters of the Holy Qur’an — is in fact not a punishment. It is a duty of Muslims to memorize the Holy Book. I wish the judges review this punishment,” he said. read more