Examining the violation of prisoner's rights in the novel "Sharq al-Mutawassit" based on the rules of the minimum standard of treatment of prisoners

Introduction

The rights of civilian and military prisoners are governed by both national and international law. International conventions include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the United Nations' Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The events of World War I and World War II had a profound effect on international law due to the widespread denial of civil rights and liberties on the basis of racial, religious, and political discrimination. The systematic use of violence, including murder and ultimately genocide, the use of slave labor, abuse and murder of prisoners of war, deportations, and confiscation of property forced changes to the status quo. Over the proceeding decades, large scale changes began to occur in all areas of international law, and prisoners’ rights were no exception.

The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners were adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 17 December 2015 after a five-year revision process. part I contains Rules of General Application. It contains standards which set out what is generally accepted as being good practices in the treatment of prisoners and the management of penal institutions. Specifically, it covers issues related to: minimum standards of accommodation; personal hygiene; medical services; discipline and punishment; the use of instruments of restraint; complaints; contact with the outside world; the availability of books; religion; retention of prisoners' property; notification of death, illness, transfer; removal of prisoners; the quality and training of prison personnel; and prison inspections. part II contains rules applicable to different categories of prisoners including those under sentence. It contains a number of guiding principles; the treatment of prisoners; classification and individualization; privileges; work; education and recreation; social relations and after-care.

Methodology

Most of the themes of Arabic realist novels include social harms such as murder, suicide, extortion, addiction, misogyny, child abuse, prison, etc. The legal analysis of such novels shows how capable the Arab novelist is in projecting legal concepts, and this greatly contributes to the globalization of Arabic literature. The novel "Sharq al-Mutawassit" (2016) by Abdul Rahman Munif (1933-2004) is one of these novels in which the author, with a critical attitude, examines the neglect of human rights and the torture of political prisoners in Arab countries, and with the knowledge of the fundamental rights of prisoners, he tries to improve the situation Represent prisons and prisoner's rights. In the present study, an attempt is made to analyze the novel "Sharq al-Mutawassit" by relying on the descriptive-analytical method and by referring to the minimum standard rules for the treatment of prisoners (1947 AD).

Results and Discussion

Some of the manifestations of the prisoner's rights, such as the right to prohibit torture, the right to human dignity and the right to life, are more prominent, and some examples such as the right to access amenities and entertainment, the right to communicate with the family and the outside world, which are mainly in the new documents have found, it has been raised more faintly; But at the same time, the continuous commitment of the novel to represent the most important examples of rights speaks of the author's commitment to the high human position and reminding the forgotten humanity to the national and global community.

The rights of prisoners in literary texts can be examined from two points of view: first, the works written in prison and sometimes considered as literary masterpieces, and the other stories written about the prison, its atmosphere and characters, which in many cases are the basis for the production of great cinematographic works. has provided Throughout history, many writers have been imprisoned for various political, religious, religious and personal reasons and have tasted the taste of imprisonment and captivity, and have recorded their difficult and sad moments in prison with the power of expression. In contemporary Arabic literature, with the increasing growth of fiction - which is due to the high capacity of this literary genre in reflecting various human, social and political issues - many fictional works centered on the rights of prisoners were written. These works generally deal with problems such as social injustice, suppression of freedom and thought, political pressure and persecution, material and political tortures.

Conclusion

The most obvious examples of prisoner's rights in the novel "Sharq al-Mutawassit" are the right to prohibit torture, the right to human dignity and the right to life with a frequency of 378 out of 482 with 79%. In the explanation, it should be added that among the 6 examined examples, the central and central point that was emphasized by the author of the story and the hero of the story was heavily involved with it, is the issue of the types and severity of torture and the violation of the right to prohibit torture in prison. So that in many places in the story, the prisoner's rights are violated and the reader witnesses various types of physical and mental torture, such as whipping, beating with a baton, hanging from the ceiling, kicking, sexual abuse, humiliation, insulting and swearing at the prisoner. the second most frequent and effective example in the novel is the category of violation of the right to human dignity, which during the story and in line with torturing the prisoner, with all kinds of insulting behavior including cursing the prisoner and his family and his sanctities, humiliating the character, ugly nicknames, complete stripping and His right to human dignity is not respected by the interrogator and prison staff.