Prisoners claim they contracted HIV in jail

DUBAI // A lawyer has filed a complaint with the Dubai Public Prosecution Department on behalf of 14 prisoners who claim they contracted HIV while serving time in Al Aweer jail. Abdel Hamid al Kumaity said he would be proceeding with a civil suit against prison authorities and will ask for Dh5 million (US$1.5m) in compensation for each inmate. "I have asked the prosecution to bring the inmates in so they can sign a joint power of attorney to allow me to proceed," said Mr Kumaity.

The 14 prisoners are 10 Emiratis, three individuals classified as stateless and one Algerian. Mr Kumaity said most were serving time for drug offences and the lawsuit would claim they might have contracted hepatitis and HIV from infected needles. "Some of them could have contracted Aids or hepatitis from infected shaving implements inside the prison," he said. Mr Kumaity claimed that inmates did not receive HIV drugs or treatment while in jail and that even after completing their sentences, some were kept in prison because they had Aids.

"There is one stateless person who was serving a four-year sentence which he completed in 2005, but he remains incarcerated because he has Aids," said Mr Kumaity. The lawyer has taken up a number of cases in which prisoners' rights have allegedly been violated. One involves the unexplained deaths of three young and healthy prisoners. hbathish@thenational.ae