970 prisoners were released from 29 prisons around Israel on Thursday, 12 Teves, the solution to the severe overcrowding.

The release of the prisoners follows the High Court of Justice ruling that the State must ensure that the conditions of the prisoners and prisons are significantly improved by the end of 2018. Since these improvements were not possible, and due to the increasing overcrowding in the prisons, it was decided to carry out an early release. The High Court of Justice ruled in June 2017 that the state must do what is required so that within 18 months the living conditions of detainees and prisoners will be improved. The ruling states that the living space for each prisoner must be expanded to 4.5 square meters.

Head of the Prisoner Rehabilitation Authority, Aryeh Bibi explains, “The statistics state that about 45 percent of the prisoners return to the revolving door of crime. If we release a thousand prisoners, that means that about 450 will return to crime. Of those who have been rehabilitated, only 18% repeat that. Although there was a committee that recommended transferring more prisoners for rehabilitation, it has not been carried out to this day.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)