Criminals that Are Sentenced to Purchasing Books

Judge Seyed Ghasem Taghizadeh Mousavi, head of the 2nd branch of criminal court 2 of Gonbad Kavous provincial town, considering that alternative to imprisonment punishments have been in particular focus in the new Criminal Justice Act, tries to sentence these types of punishments that do not have private plaintiffs, and the criminals are juveniles, and do not have a criminal record, and they are misdemeanor crimes and or the damages levels that are inflicted to the plaintiff are minimal.
According to this good natured judge, towards the use of the good capacities that exist in the Law, in criminal court 2 of Gonbad Kavous in every letter that is sent to the accused on the notification of prison, to inform the prisoner that until the date of the court appearance the accused must read five books and send the summary of each book alongside a Hadith.
Saying that with the use of alternative to imprisonment punishments has resulted in buying books for the Gonbad Kavous prison, he added: "the books are selected in such way that they are practical for all prisoners irrelevant of literacy and awareness levels or knowledge and for all ages; books that range from very simplified language to technical and specialised books with high scientific levels."
Pointing out that even children's story books have been prepared for their mothers, the head of the 2nd branch of criminal court 2 of Gonbad Kavous explained: "All the pages of the books have stamps of deed of endowment so that more care is taken in protecting and keeping the books. As well as individual and social benefits, reading books in prison also reduces prisoners fights." He said the aim is to promote cultural activities such as getting books, for increasing awareness and strengthening the faith and will spirit and solving of social issues, and continued: "one of the reasons of crimes being committed is lack of awareness. Prisons leave irreversible material and mental effects on the criminal and his or her family, and these effects can be reduced through alternative to imprisonment punishments."
The facilitation of the possibility of the acceptance of the convicted in society and prevention of their antisocial behaviour, the minimizing the feeling of revenge in the convicted individual and reduction of their prison expenses such as clothes, food and security are the most important benefits of alternative to imprisonment punishments. He deemed a change to the prison atmosphere as another alternative to imprisonment and said: "Collecting and putting up posters of nature sceneries, prisoners drawings and writing baners with religious and social teachings are other alternative punishments that are applied in this unit."
In this regard, Hadi Hashemian, the director general of the Golestan Province Justice Department stressing on the encouragement of these types of sentences said: "The replacement of these alternative punishments is in the working agenda of the Justice Department. The New Islamic Punishment Code and Criminal Proceedings Guidelines present good methods for alternative to imprisonment punishments, which judges can use. Judges that use alternative to imprisonment punishments, suspended sentences and conditional release for first time offenders and misdemeanors and crimes that do not have private plaintiffs will be commended."