Jambi Law and Human Rights Agency head Bambang Palasara said the Jambi Class II A Penitentiary would not be accepting new inmates as it was overcrowded.   

“Following a recent riot in the Jambi prison, we have decided to stop accepting new inmates. Instead, we are set to reduce the prison’s population,” said Bambang as quoted by Antara on Thursday.

He said the penitentiary located in Jambi city housed 1,300 inmates while ideally, it should be inhabited by only 300-400 people. Overcrowding was cited as one of the causes of the  prison riot in  March.

Bambang said new detainees would be directed to other penitentiaries around Jambi, such as the Muarasabak Penitentiary in East Tanjungjabung regency and the Muarabulian Penitentiary in Batanghari regency.

He further said, sending new detainees to other penitentiaries may create other problems because some of them would still have to stand trial in Jambi.

“It is risky to allow them travel back and forth from the court in the city to penitentiaries in its neighboring regencies. Still, we will not accept new inmates until we have a better solution,” he said.

Bambang said he hoped the provincial administration could help solve the problem by renovating the Jambi Penitentiary, including by fixing its drainage, which had caused flooding. The prison is also understaffed, with only 10 guards monitoring 1,300 inmates. (dis/ebf)