Local authorities in Shabwa governorate in southern Yemen announced the release of 43 prisoners in an effort to reduce the risk of coronavirus being transmitted among the prison population. A committee established by Shabwa governor Mohammed Saleh Bin Adyo to review the conditions inside the governorate’s prison system said the prisoners were released on Saturday evening after reviewing their cases with the chief prosecutor of Shabwa.

Globally, as of Sunday evening over 685,000 cases of coronavirus, also referred to as Covid-19, have been confirmed, with over 32,000 associated deaths. Yemen remains one of very few countries without any confirmed cases of the deadly disease, and local authorities around the country are taking unprecedented measures to reduce the likelihood of the disease spreading in Yemen.

The committee and the chief prosecutor approved the release of the 43 prisoners based on the fact that they had already served at least 75 percent of their sentences and they were deemed to not pose any threat to society. Moreover, before their release the prisoners provided commercial guarantees, which are a form of guarantee which stipulate that a third-party guarantor will bear all financial consequences on behalf of the prisoner.

The committee said it will continue to study the conditions of prisoners in Shabwa and review the files of other prisoners, with the potential for more prisoners meeting the aforementioned criteria to be released in the near future.

-Agencies