Looking in to Yemen’s penitentiary system, Human Rights Watch said to have discovered a troubling trend whereby a great many people have been sent to jail for long period of time over insolvency issues.
Following an enquiry in the matter, HRW noted in a report published Tuesday that an estimated 142 people “are being held in the Sanaa Central Prison in Yemen because of a debt or fine they are unable to pay.” The rights group stressed that its estimates are likely to be the tip of the tip of the iceberg.
According to witness statements and other collected data, Yemenis have taken into the habit of imprisoning anyone who for lack of resources fails to meet his or her private financial obligations: payment of a fine, compensation for an accident or other similar issues. HRW claims that such a practice stands a disservice to the nation.
“Keeping an insolvent person in prison for a debt is not going to get that money back,” said Nadim Houry, deputy Middle East and North Africa director. “Prison should be reserved for people serving sentences for real crimes.”
Under Yemen’s judicial system a judge can choose to imprison a person for failing to execute a court order such as for payment of a debt or fine. While an exception can be made should the accused be insolvent, judges have seldom implemented such clause, preferring instead to criminalize insolvency, a trend HRW is hoping to change.
As per explained by HRW in its report, “Yemen’s criminal code permits judges to impose fines, usually the repayment of financial losses incurred by the victim, in addition to or instead of prison terms. For instance, a court may order a convicted murderer to pay diya to the family of the victim but may imprison the person indefinitely if they do not pay. Article 508 states that prisoners can only be released if they have fulfilled all of their financial obligations, unless “there is proof of the inability to meet such obligations.””
Under international law a person cannot be deprived of her or his liberty based on his or her inability to meet “a contractual obligation,” whether or not financial.
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