Iraq prepares plan to rehabilitate prisoners through operational workshops

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[size=52]Iraq prepares plan to rehabilitate prisoners through operational workshops[/size]

[size=45]The Baghdad government is expected to start implementing programs to employ Iraqi prisoners soon, in a move aimed at rehabilitating them and then integrating them into society after the end of their sentences. This step has been praised for its importance and positive social impact.
The Iraqi government had previously announced plans to develop prisons and improve the conditions of prisoners in the country, stressing that it seeks to end the prison overcrowding crisis, as part of its expansion strategy.
This includes creating integrated correctional cities and renovating the current facilities to match the number of Iraqi prisoners in them. The Ministry of Justice also promised a plan to redistribute these prisoners according to the geographical area. Minister of Justice Khaled Shawani approved the file on Wednesday, according to a statement issued by his ministry, which explained that the file includes “instructions for employing inmates and detainees in the Departments of Reform and Juvenile Reform,” after those instructions were reviewed by the State Council, noting that they aim to “provide job opportunities for inmates in a way that contributes to their rehabilitation and reintegration into society.”
The Ministry of Justice added in its statement that “according to the instructions, an appropriate training program is developed for inmates before they start working, and they are guaranteed to receive the wages due according to the contracts concluded with them,” noting that Iraqi prisoners have the right to “withdraw part of the money or deposit it in trust accounts or send it to their families, based on official records approved by the committee.”
The instructions stipulate the establishment of workshops, laboratories or facilities in the correctional departments, and the provision of sufficient spaces to employ inmates, provided that the two correctional departments are committed to contracting with government agencies that need to employ inmates or those placed in correctional departments and schools in accordance with the law.
In this context, an official in the Planning Department at the Iraqi Ministry of Justice said that “the employment plan was developed after a comprehensive study of the file, and the appropriate conditions for the inmate were taken into account.
It will be implemented successively in correctional prisons in the near future.” The Iraqi official, who requested anonymity, explained that “the plan will focus on rehabilitating the inmate, and will be applied to inmates whose sentences are about to end first, then to those closest in terms of sentence length.” The
Iraqi official explained that “the plan will be applied according to the prisons, i.e. those that meet criteria that ensure the plan can be implemented, in terms of the number of inmates and the size of the prison,” adding that “the plan’s instructions are ready, and the ministry is studying the prisons to determine priorities in implementing its plan according to the prisons and correctional departments.”[/size]
[size=45]For his part, Iraqi activist in community affairs Muzaffar al-Hasani said, “The ministry’s step is important, but it requires other steps that will have a positive impact on the reality of prisons.”
He added that the ministry must first “solve the problem of overcrowding in prisons, as this is one of the biggest problems facing Iraqi prisoners, and then a program to employ them can be implemented.”
Al-Hasani continued, “We see that the current government is taking steps and efforts to alleviate the problems of prisoners, and this is a good thing that should be credited to it.”
Al-Hasani pointed out that “if the problems are solved and the program is launched, which includes employment workshops, this will have a good impact on the prisoner’s psyche. Consequently, upon completion of his sentence, he will be able to return to society and integrate into it.” The activist believed that “Iraq has been late in implementing efforts that come within the framework of prison reform, but the state’s return to bearing responsibility for rehabilitating prisoners is a step in the right direction.” He stressed that "there are many large accumulations in the reality of prisons, and they require a great governmental effort to get rid of them," hoping that "the government will succeed in its efforts."
It is worth noting that the file of Iraqi prisoners is a complex file, due to violations, breaches and overcrowding, while there are no official statistics on the number of these prisoners in the country. However, conflicting numbers confirm that they are close to 100,000 prisoners distributed among the prisons of the Ministries of Justice, Interior and Defense, in addition to prisons affiliated with security agencies such as the Intelligence, National Security and Counter-Terrorism agencies.[/size]
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