AMMAN —AlGhad— A source with the Ministry of Justice confirmed to AlGhad that no alternative penalty sentences have been issued as of yet, even though the ‘Alternative Penalties’ amendment to the penal code was passed and disseminated via official media at the very beginning of the current month.
The Ministry has already signed a number of MoUs with several organisations, ministers and branches of government to facilitate the sentences.
Earlier, Minister of Justice Dr Awad Abu Jarad stated that penalties against freedom result in various social threats, ruining the convicts’ lives and those of their families.
These penalties lead, in most cases, to social isolation, he explained.
Accordingly, an amendment was passed to introduce social and alternative penalties as substitutes to these sentences, in order to minimise complications post-penalty.
Alternative penalties include social work, unpaid labour and rehabilitation programmes.
Aside to the many positive aspects of these penalties, overall, enforcing alternative penalties can save the prison system JOD69-90 million, annually.
