Overcrowded Cells

Overcrowding, unhygienic conditions and violence are plaguing Al Rashidiya detention centre as authorities struggle to cope with the increasing number of detainees in the lock-ups of Bur Dubai police station, Khaleej Times has learnt.

By Amira Agarib And?mohammed Riyaz

Published: Thu 11 Dec 2008, 12:19 AM

Last updated: Mon 13 Nov 2023, 4:08 PM

On the eve of Eid, Al Rashidiya detention centre, which has the capacity to have only 40 people, was crammed with more than 230 inmates.

Brigadier Abdul Jalil Mehdi, Deputy Director of Preventive Security Department, admitted that the centre is overcrowded and said it is because the police were forced to move detainees at the Bur Dubai station to Al Rashidiya centre, which has better security, following a bid by some prisoners to escape and set fire to the cells at the station recently.

A new detention centre is being built now and the Human Rights Department of Dubai Police regularly conducts inspections, he added.

The UAE’s jails are progressive, meet United Nations standards and have a reformative approach, he claimed, but police sources and inmates say the situation at the detention centres, where people await police action, is spiralling out of control.

UAE national Mahmoud T., who was detained recently at the Al Rashidiya centre, said a room which has two double-cots for four people has to accommodate additional people with many sleeping on the floor.

Apart from this, former inmates said the condition at the centre is unhygienic with toilets overflowing with human waste. Flies are everywhere posing health hazards although the floors are cleaned every two days. Beds have no sheets and are rarely cleaned.

Mahmoud said that he was detained by Bur Dubai police after he hit someone who got injured and was referred to Al Rashidhiya centre.

“Why is everyone locked up in the same cell such as murder accused, drug addicts, violent persons, thieves, fraudsters, mentally retarded persons and even people over 70 years old?” he asked.

Mahmoud suggested that the police must categorise the inmates according to the type of crime and age. People with special needs and sick people must not be kept in the same cells with others. A UAE national and a former detainee, Salem S., said inmates, especially drug addicts, get into fights often, forcing the officials to call the riot police to bring the situation under control.

“Some prisoners fight over watching television which is provided for entertainment. Groups of people of different nationalities fight with each other as in the street to watch their favourite channels. It is a free for all.”

Two to three policemen are stationed near the cells but they do not intervene to stop fights despite calls for help from the other inmates, he said.

Salem revealed that some musclemen or long-time detainees even resort to torture including sexual assaults of others.

These inmates often collect commissions from inmates who require food from restaurants outside the premises. He proposed stationing of officers inside the jail for security or installation of surveillance cameras to monitor activities. Kumar D. M., an Indian who was held at the centre recently, said some prisoners who suffer from serious diseases are not treated properly.

They are provided with insufficient quantities of medicines. As a result, their health deteriorates and diseases spread among others.

Kumar said the inmates know about the time of cell inspections and behave well during that period. There would be a cleanup for a day or two but subsequently the condition would deteriorate again.

Shah M., another former detainee, complained that the people were dumped in cells and kept in illegal custody for more than 48 hours without being referred to the public prosecution or providing legal assistance, which was denied by Brigadier Mehdi.

Adding to the problem, those booked by the Bur Dubai police are also sent to Al Rashidiya since the construction of the new jail has not been completed.

Brigadier Mehdi said the police have shifted drug users to separate cells to prevent fights, but added that people detained by the Bur Dubai police would be kept in the Al Rashidiya centre for the time being.

Construction of a new detention centre and renovation of Bur Dubai police station will be completed soon. After the completion of the cells, the prison authorities will categorise the inmates and keep each group in separate cells, he said.

He claimed all detainees are being referred to the Dubai Public Prosecution within 48 hours. Officials of the criminal control and human rights departments of Dubai Police often visit police detention centres to review cases of all inmates to ensure that nobody is held illegally.