Alternative punishments may include house arrests, community work, electronic surveillance and others

Describing the move as a significant progress to the judiciary system, the implementation of new alternative punishments was welcomed by lawyers and lawmakers alike. The law was first declared by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa on July 19, 2017, introducing a number of penalties other than imprisonment and offering judges and the Public Prosecution extra options and jurisdictions.

The alternative punishments include five procedures against defendants, such as house arrests, community work, enrollment in training and rehabilitation programmes, electronic surveillance that includes monitoring of social media accounts and emails, compensating the damages caused as a result of the crime and more. As reported, the Public Prosecution on Sunday announced that it has implemented the new law on 11 female convicts for the first time.

Public Prosecutor General Attorney Dr. Ali Al Buainain confirmed in a statement that the new punishments would help ease congestion in prisons and help in some cases with relation to family stability and living conditions. He added that the verdicts issued against the women varied between community service and enrollment in training and rehabilitation programmes. However, Dr. Al Buainain didn’t disclose any information on the nature of the crimes committed by the female convicts