Saturday 06 / July / 2024
Muscat: An initiative to ensure people jailed over debts are freed to spend Eid with their loved ones secured the release of 252 prisoners this year, the Oman Lawyers Association announced.
This year’s ‘Fak Kurba’ - meaning ‘problem solved’ - initiative, which started on May 11 and ended yesterday, was able to help secure the release of 252 prisoners.
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The total amount collected and spent this year was OMR176,857 and 30 lawyers volunteered.
‘Fak Kurba’ is a voluntary initiative started in 2012 by the Omani Lawyers Association, headed by Dr. Mohammed Al Zadjali, head of the Legal Committee at the Majlis Al Shura.
It is started before Ramadan, and aims to help with the release of prisoners with financial debts and non-criminal charges so that they get out in time to celebrate Eid with their families. “This year we helped the release of 252 prisoners and collected OMR176,857, and hope to release even more next year,” said Dr. Al Zadjali.
In its launch year, 10 lawyers volunteered, and helped with the release of 44 prisoners, while the second version in 2014 witnessed the release of 304 people.
In 2015, the association managed to help 422 prisoners and won the second place in the Sultan Qaboos award for volunteer work.
The lowest amount paid during this edition of the campaign was OMR30 to stop an order to imprison a female student, who failed to pay the full rent amount that she owed. Another person donated for someone facing imprisonment due to their debt to the donating entity themselves.
According to Al Zadjali, several prisoners were freed in the Ad Dhahirah region with the help of ‘Fak Kurba.’ “A kind man paid for the release of these prisoners because of which we were able to clear all court lists from
that region.”
Although the campaign was not initiated in 2016 because of a lack of funds, it intends to help a large number of prisoners this year. “In 2016, the project was not activated due to the economic crisis. However, we are doing it this year once again, we started the process on May 11, and we will continue until July 11,” said Al Zadjali.
“We focus on Ramadan because we want prisoners to celebrate Eid with their families. We are targeting to help the maximum number of people during this Ramadan; the number is still not finalised.”
‘Fak Kurba’ is a voluntary association, which has a committee of lawyers who work together to bring a difference to the lives of people. The committee usually receives lists of people in trouble from all the courts in Oman, “There are 44 courts in Oman and we receive lists of people from these courts and then we figure out who to help, we want to help as many people as possible.
Fak Kurba does not only support Omanis, but expats as well, “In Salalah alone, there were 15 expats freed. In Muscat, we have about five or six and there were also expat cases in Seeb,” said Kamal Mohammed Al Lawati, board member at the Omani Lawyers Association.
