Buying freedom: 33 prisoners released

NGO official paid the fine for 23 prisoners while Khoso relaxed sentence of 10 other prisoners.

KARACHI: A total of 33 prisoners were released from District Jail Malir, many of whom had completed their sentence.

The release of the prisoners took place when District and Sessions Judge Malir, Imdad Hussain Khoso, visited the jail to take stock of the problems faced by the prisoners.

He was accompanied by judicial magistrates Ashfaq Mughal and Naveed Asghar Sheikh, as well as a member of the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Saiban. A number of prisoners informed the judge that they had completed their sentence but were still in jail as they could not afford to pay the necessary fine.

In light of these difficulties, the NGO official paid the fine for 23 prisoners while Khoso relaxed the sentence of 10 other prisoners.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 1^st, 2011.