According to Ministry of Interior insiders, the decision was made for health reasons “in order to prevent outbreak of contagious diseases among prisoners.”
Sources further blamed embassies for “failing to provide adequate cooperation to deport prisoners held for long periods of time.”
“Some embassies fail to provide travel documents for prisoners arrested without valid passports, which is the reason behind many cases of inmates being held in custody for a long time,” said sources. Other inmates are reportedly held pending financial liabilities that “force authorities not to deport them until their legal issues are resolved.”
In other news, medical test results carried out on residents at a shelter operated by an African nation’s embassy returned negative for tuberculosis, revealed Dr Khalid Al- Sehlawi, Acting Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health.
The tests were administered on nearly 500 residents – mostly domestic workers facing labor-related complications. Six cases of infection were reported. According to Al- Sehlawi “They are receiving treatment at the respiratory rehabilitation center under quarantine.”
The senior health official further revealed that the MoH plans to contact the Foreign Ministry “to inform embassies about maintaining health requirements at shelters and buildings,”
