Statement by the Chairperson of the National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR) on Organizing visits to Prisoners who have received the Corona vaccination
Ms. Maria Khoury, Chairperson of the National Institution for Human Rights, stated that a delegation from the NIHR had made an unannounced visit to the Correction and Rehabilitation Center in the Jaw region in order to look at the mechanism and procedures for visits to prisoners who received the Coronavirus vaccination announced by the General Administration of Correction and Rehabilitation earlier.
Ms. Khoury said, "The NIHR's delegation met with the Center's officials, and the necessary precautionary measures and preventive measures were closely examined during the visit by the prisoners'' families in order to be reassured about the prisoners and their health conditions." Ms. Khoury went on to say: "The NIHR's delegation also met randomly with a number of prisoners and their families, who expressed their pleasure at the Center’s initiative to organize these visits, and satisfaction with the health and preventive measures taken to limit the spread of the virus.
Ms. Khoury asserted that the allegations raised about the health conditions of prisoners in the correction and rehabilitation centers are unfounded, explaining that the NIHR - as an independent and impartial body - is following up all the measures and measures taken by the General Administration of Reform and Rehabilitation to deal with any existing cases or contacts between Inmates since the outbreak of the pandemic in the Kingdom, and are aware of all the procedures that are carried out in a timely manner, including but not limited to: subjecting all new inmates to examination, isolation procedures, applying social distancing measures inside the centers, and stopping all visits except for visits to inmates who have taken the anti-vaccination For the virus, provided that their families or those who want to visit them have taken the vaccination as well, in addition to conducting a laboratory examination for the Corona virus before the visit.
Ms. Khoury pointed out that the NIHR’s delegation, through its inspection of the Center on the ground, sees that the application of precautionary measures is implemented in a precise and professional manner to protect the health and safety of prisoners, individuals and all of the Center's visitors as part of the national efforts to combat the Corona pandemic, adding that there is a quarantine center with specialized medical staff equipped with all medical equipment. There is also medical clinic operating around the clock, as well as continuous sterilization operations for all its facilities and facilities, and that health care continues and has not stopped for all prisoners.
