The Omani Lawyers Association (OLA) has secured the release of 252 people — both citizens and expatriates — jailed for minor monetary offences, by paying off their fines.
The association raised the amount — RO 176,857 — through donations from businessmen across the country, said its executive members.
OLA secured the prisoners’ release as part of the fourth edition of the initiative of ‘Fak Kurba’, a voluntary association that works to bring a difference to the lives of people.
“We managed to secure the release of 252 citizens and expatriates by paying amounts due against their names, thanks to the 30 lawyers from various governorates who appeared for the defendants,” said Mohammed al Zadjali, Chairman of OLA and Member of Majlis Ash’shura in charge of Legislative and Legal Committee.
He said OLA’s focus was on Ramadhan because it wanted these prisoners to celebrate Eid al Fitr with their families, a task that it accomplished.
It raised RO 330,000 in 2015 to secure the release of 432 people convicted for various offences, including civil, commercial, legitimacy, labour. “The criteria (for securing their release) was to first ensure the offence was not criminal in nature. Second, we assessed the circumstances behind the litigation. Finally, the fine shouldn’t be over RO 5,000,” Kamal Mohammed al Lawati, board member of OLA in charge of Finance Committee, said.
The committee classified the cases into three categories on the basis of the fine to be paid: RO 1 to RO 500; RO 501 to RO 2,000; and RO 2,000 to RO 5,000. “The association organised a number of promotional exhibitions for the initiative in several governorates. Since their launch, we saw a positive response from the community to help in the release of prisoners who remained in jail because of default in debt repayment,” Dr Hamed al Rabee, Deputy Chairman of OLA and member of Omani National Human Rights Committee, said. Since its inception, the initiative has supported many in trouble and has continued to do so.
KABEER YOUSUF
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