Displaced and refugee families in Suleimaniya ... - Kurdish Globe

The Kurdish Globe No. 314, Saturday, July 23, 2011 9Kurdistan Region prisonsneed urgent improvementHawjinRashadaddinErbilhawjin.kurdishglobe@gmail.comKurdistan Regionprisons have few supppliesandworkshops whereprisoners can learnnew skills to helpthem when they'rereleased. Under thesecircumstances, somefear prisoners willlearn new ways tocommit crimes.The Directorate of ReformPrisons is the authority rescsponsible for helping prisoconers return to society, butit seems to have few rescsources.A social researcher workicing in the field of prisonreform and care, ShwanSabir, reported the Region'sprisons offer little in theway of reform.“The supervisors of theprisons say they have speccial workshops in theirprisons to train prisoners sothey can acquire skills. But,when we visit those prisons,we find out they don't havesupplies and the machinerydoesn't work. If the prisonecers want to produce items,there's no market for them.So, if they learn blacksmithicing, carpentry and tailoring,they aren't able to sell theirproducts,” said Sabir whohas conducted research onprison conditions with IraqJustice Network.Although the governmentbuys the supplies at fullprice, there is no plan soworkshops in the prisonscan buy the items at lowerprices to make them morefinancially viable.Economic experts in theThe Tasluja 51-megawattpower station in Suleimcmaniya should have beenfinished at the beginning of2008, but it is still not genecerating power.The project was run byKorean UI Energy Compancny which started the projecton April 29, 2007. It wasoriginally planned as a 91-megawatt power station,but the government reducedit to 51 megawatts to speedcompletion. It was suppcPrisons may "teach" inmates how to commit crimesRegion believe the workscshops and teaching craftsin the prisons should be acccording to the needs of themarket. They think whenthe prisoners are released,they can earn their livingand use the skills they acqcquired in prison.“The equipment in theprison factories and workscshops is worn out. Therewere plans to provide matcterials and open modernworkshops in 2010, butthe budget problems scuttctled these plans. We evenhave problems providingthe prisoners with enoughfood,” said Ahmed Najmcmaddin, the general directctor of Kurdistan Directorateof Reform and Prisons. Healso made it clear the dircrectorate hasn't had fundsto provide food for prisonecers since July 2010, and hasasked for money.The budget for the Directctorate of Reform and Prisocons was $11 billion, withan additional $4 billion toprovide food.The directorate asked forthis budget, but the Ministctry of Finance decreased it,noted Najmaddin. “Just see,when the air-conditioner ofDuhok Central Prison brokedown, we were obliged tobeg the Duhok governoracate to help repair it becausethe Ministry of Financewouldn't pay for it.”Najmaddin noted thatprisons are unable to domuch because of the lowbudget and that they're unacable to upgrade older prisonbuildings to meet currentstandards. “The building ofErbil Central Prison — loccally known as Muhata— isn’t suitable and no refcform can be done in suchbuilding where 60 prisonersposed to begin operationsJan. 1, 2008.As of July 2011, the powecer station is still not producicing electricity. The deadlinewas extended several timesand construction was eventctually halted. A mechanicalengineer who knows thedetails of this project toldthe Globe the project wasstopped two years ago.“UI Energy is not a highrankedcompany and it alwcways postpones fulfillmentA number of prisoners at Erbil Central Prison.— who have different typesof crimes — are kept in oneroom. How can we developworkshops a building likethat?”Sabir lambasted the Kurdicistan Regional Government,saying it is shameful to havea prison like Muhata closeto universities and residentctial areas, and it is the sameas it was 20 years ago.KRG Minister of Laborand Social Affairs AsosNajeeb told the Globe thatthe construction of thebuilding of the Adult Refcform Prison is underway,and it is 15 percent compcplete.“Forty-nine million dollclars was spent for this prisocon, and it should have to becompleted by June, 2012,”Najeeb noted.Although the media repcports say the KRG is nowplanning to improve prisonof its projects. The implemcmentation of 400-bed hospcpital project in Suleimaniyawas delayed for four yearsand is still incomplete,”said Hemn Osman, an engincneer who supervised the UIEnergy projects.Osman also noted thecompany didn’t have goodproject management andand he is not sure why UIEnergy won the contractsfor these projects.A general director inconditions, they also sayprisons are a haven forlearning new criminal behchavior and they are a goodplace to learn how to commcmit other crimes. The mediaalso fears the prisons willgive rise to criminal gangs.Violations and abuseThe phenomenon ofsexual abuse has come up,and rates have grown to 90percent among prisoners.Abuse and violence in theRegion’s prisons stem froma number of factors.“The prisoners shouldhave some time to meettheir wives and this couldbe done with good and wellorganizedprison buildings.So, both the prisoners andtheir wives would be awayfrom others,” said Sabir.Najmaddin said the mainreason behind this phenomecenon is keeping all kinds ofprisoners in a single room,the Electrical Energy Offcfice, who preferred to beunnamed, explained UIEnergy has been fined $3million. “UI Energy hasonly received the amount ofmoney which was allowedaccording to the rules of thecontract. Most of the statction’s generators have beenset up and it is 98 percentcomplete. The station nowneeds to be tested and thenbrought online,” said thedirector.which leads to sexual abuse.For example, some havebeen arrested for sex crimesbut are kept with drug dealecers, thieves and murderersin one room. “If differenttypes of criminals not separcrated from each other, eachone of them would practicethe other’s crime.”According to prison regulclations, a prisoner’s famicily can pay a visit twice aweek, but no places are setaside for conjugal visits.“Although we try to keepthe prisoner-family relationsalive, all these problems aredue to lack of standardizedand suitable buildings,”Najmaddin noted.The Ministry of Laborand Social Affairs recentlydecided to allow some prisoconers — thought to be lowflight risks — to visit theirfamilies for five days everythree months. NajmaddinTasluja power station still not working andis three years behind scheduleAlthough the Taslujapower station was supposedto help solve the electricityshortage in the Region, Osmcman says it is now a problclem for Kurdistan RegionalGovernment Ministry ofElectricity. The Ministry ofElectricity is now trying tofind out suitable solutionsfor the Tasluja station and isplanning to open the stationin near future.“The project was to inccrease the electricity suppcsays this has been going onin Erbil and Duhok since2010 and “the divorce levelhas been drastically deccreased between the prisonecers and their spouses.”Moreover, Sabir explainedthat family relationshipsdon't only include husbandwifeconjugal visits butalso the children who needto connect with both theirparents. While the childrenare innocent in their parecents' crimes, “unfortunatelychildren have to be victimsfor the parents’ mistakes inKurdistan Region.”“The prisons have to bestandardized for childrennot to feel embarrassed insociety. They have to liveand talk to their parentsand not face psychologicalproblems or become crimincnals in future,” said Sabir.ply, but unfortunately itcreated another problem. Itnow needs to be tested befcfore it can generate power.The ministry is now tryingto decide whether the govecernment or the private sectctor will run the station in thefuture,” said KRG Ministerof Electricity Yassin Abubcbakir Mawati.GLOBE PHOTO / Safin Hamed