Gulf News

Jail inmates reflect on their past in book

Stories recount actual experience­s of Sharjah inmates serving time behind bars

- BY AGHADDIR ALI Staff Reporter

Like true crime stories? You may want to bury your nose in a new book full of real-crime drama as told by inmates in Sharjah prisons.

The new release, titled Moral of My Story ... Light on the Path to Hope, is the brainchild of Sharjah Punitive and Rehabilita­tion Establishm­ents that has published the edition which is believed to be the first of its kind in the region, officials said.

The idea of a true crime book came up during the fourth GCC unified Inmates Week held in December 2016.

Colonel Ahmad Suhail, director-general of Sharjah Punitive and Rehabilita­tion Establishm­ents, told Gulf News in an exclusive interview that the book has given inmates a positive push, bringing them together in a collective experience of harmony and hope.

Prisoners are keen to tell their stories and explain the decisions they made that led them to their life behind bars.

Hope and redemption are common threads in the stories, he said, by inmates of different nationalit­ies and ages between 20 and 45.

English and Urdu versions of the book were part of a police initiative to turn inmates’ crimes into stories that will teach readers a lesson to go down the same dead-end road.

The book has 366 pages and roughly 2,600 copies have been distribute­d for free among community members. It will be available in the public libraries as well and there is a plan to upload it online.

 ?? Courtesy: Sharjah Police ?? ■ The idea of a true crime book came up during the fourth GCC unified Inmates Week held in December 2016.
Courtesy: Sharjah Police ■ The idea of a true crime book came up during the fourth GCC unified Inmates Week held in December 2016.

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