UMM AL QAIWAIN // A fundraising campaign to help release prisoners convicted of minor financial crimes was launched yesterday. The Red Crescent Authority (RCA) and Umm al Qaiwain Police have teamed up to promote awareness of and raise money for people imprisoned for bounced cheques and small debts. RCA officials said the charity had paid Dh106,616 in the past year to help free eight prisoners in UAQ.
Nasser al Hudhaibah, the RCA's branch manager, said the agency was "obliged by moral and humanitarian concerns" to help these prisoners pay their debts and regain their freedom. "Priority has been given to prisoners with genuine debts, like those who took bank loans to meet medical expenses or failed to pay their house rent for not having a job," he said. He said Dh50,830 went to four Emirati prisoners and Dh55,786 to several expatriate inmates, all of whom returned home.
Col Allaa al Bayraq, the head of UAQ Punitive and Rehabilitation Establishments, praised the RCA's efforts and said there were eight more financial prisoners in the emirate's jail.
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