Ministry of Justice bids for contract in Saudi Arabia

The new commercial arm of the Ministry of Justice, Just Solutions international, is in the runnning for a £5.9m contract with the Saudi prison service, The Guardian reports. The contract aims to sell British prison expertise to raise funds for the National Offender Management Service of England and Wales. 

Pressure groups have criticised the move on the grounds that the Saudi regime frequently violates the human rights of its own citizens. In 2014 Saudi Arabia beheaded 59 people and has recently recieved international attention for sentencing a liberal blogger to 1,000 lashes and ten years imprisonment for criticising the country's clerics.

David Allen Green in his Jack of Kent blog sets out some of his concerns over the deal, including transparency issues, human rights issues, the legitimation of Saudi punishment, and the conflicted interests of the Ministry of Justice.