Kurdistan introduces temporary home leave for inmates as a rehabilitation measure

Shafaq News / The Directorate of Corrections under the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor in the Kurdistan Region announced on Wednesday the temporary implementation of the "home leave" system for 278 inmates against bail throughout the year 2023. This marks the first time such an initiative has been carried out at the regional level.

The "home leave" in effect within the Region's correctional facilities involves a family member of the prisoner providing financial sponsorship in exchange for the prisoner's release for a few days. The sponsorship entails the sponsor serving the sentence in case of the prisoner's disappearance, death, or escape.

During a press conference held today, the General Director of Corrections in the Region, Ihsan Abdulrahman, stated that a total of 599 convicted individuals have worked as sanitation workers or in commercial shops within the correctional facilities.

He further stated that the authorization for home leave was implemented for the first time in Kurdistan and across Iraq and the entire region, with 287 individuals returning home under sponsorship in the past year.

Abdulrahman added that 5716 inmates underwent "religious seclusion", implying that families reunited within the prisons in designated areas under supervision.