At least seven inmates serving different terms at the Juba Central prison were released on Tuesday after the Somali community and the South Sudan Islamic Council paid their pending fines.

The inmates are said to have been jailed for petty crimes including failure to pay debts and court fines. Their release was concluded during Eid-el Fitr celebrations.

Hassan Ali Al-Jak, Secretary-General of the Dewan Zaka office at the Islamic Council said the purpose of the visit was to release several inmates.

"This initiative is to release petty criminals from Juba Central Prison. Prison is not a place for criminals, some people entered prison for different circumstances," he said. 

The head of the Somali Community in South Sudan, Juma Musa expressed his gratitude to the prison authorities for their cooperation saying they will be engaging prison authorities. 

"This gesture shall not be the last but we shall continue to do whatever we can," Musa said. 

He encouraged the released prisoners to reintegrate into society and refrain from crime. 

For his part, the Deputy Director of Juba Central Prison, Major General Bak Anyir, said that the prison is a place for reforms, not punishment. 

"We take a person out of prison to the labor market to be a good person for society," he said. "You have to be a good person for society, if you have children, raise your children well."

25-year-old Emmanuel Kenji Justin, one of the seven released prisoners, thanked the Islamic Council for initiating their release. He was imprisoned for failure to pay a debt of SSP 2,500.