Severe restrictions in prisons at times amount to solitary confinement and have created a real risk of psychological decline among prisoners, which needs to be addressed urgently, says the Prison Inspectorate.
Detainees are often at heightened risk of COVID-19 due to close proximity, inability to practice social distancing, a lack of adequate sanitation and hygiene, a high incidence of underlying medical conditions, and lack of adequate medical care.
After holding some of the detainees for nearly two years without charge, Saudi authorities began a mass trial behind closed doors on 8 March 2020 at the Specialised Criminal Court in Riyadh.
A new inspection report says Border Force should ensure that children, injured detainees and those held in vehicles are treated safely, decently and in accordance with the law.
The unilateral release of 290 detainees, including 42 survivors of an attack on a place of detention in Dhamar this month, took place on 30 September 2019.
Inspectors find that despite repeated recommendations, some standards of common decency were not met, such as allowing detainees to go to the toilet in private.