Former UAE prisoners sent home for Ramadan

Ramadan: Nearly a hundred former prisoners have had their passage home paid by the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation.

ABU DHABI // Almost a hundred former prisoners have been given financial help to return to their home countries.

Ninety-eight inmates have had their debts settled and been given plane tickets home by the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation.

The gesture was made to mark Ramadan and to ensure the former prisoners returned home in time to spend Eid with their families.

"This auspicious month will see the liberation of the released prisoners who hail from 12 countries and who will soon rejoin their families," said Mohammed Haji Al Khoori, the director general of the foundation. "The foundation is keen to promote its values as an organisation that is truly inspired by the spirit of Ramadan. Bringing people together in harmony by reuniting these prisoners with their loved ones will be an integral part of our focus.

"We at the foundation believe that every one of these prisoners deserves an opportunity to restructure their lives, and to be able to provide them with this opportunity during the most noble month of the Islamic calendar is key to our core values."

Financial assistance was required because most of the prisoners were from low-income families and lacked the funds to pay their debts and return home, reported the state news agency Wam.

"The foundation considers such acts of benevolence as a paramount part of its existence based on its philanthropic values and morals," Mr Al Khoori said.