Indian-Emirati businessman Firoz Merchant, 66, has donated US$272K (Dh1 million) to support the release of over 900 inmates from UAE prisons.
A well-known Dubai-based philanthropist, Merchant decided to pay the penalties of convicts to secure their release and reunite them with their families during the Holy Month of Ramadan.
“In the spirit of forgiveness and extending second chances to those who need to be reunited with family and society. We have recently donated AED 1 million to liberate over 900 prisoners as approach the Holy Month of Ramadan,” Merchant announced on his Instagram account.
Founder of Pure Gold Group in Dubai, the philanthropist has been actively engaged in the care of elderly people through his 2008 initiative, "The Forgotten Society." With the assistance of police authorities at central jails around the UAE, he has so far donated thousands of dollars for the wellbeing of detainees and the release of over 20,000 inmates since 2008.
In addition to paying their bills and fines, he also provides them with airline tickets to help them return to their own countries. This year, Merchant has set a target to facilitate the release of more 3,000 prisoners.
“I am grateful for the support the government officials to help release of prisoners,” he said, as quoted by GulfNews. Since the start of 2024, Merchant has already helped 900 prisoners be released.
According to the Maagulf news, they included 495 inmates from Ajman, 170 from Fujairah, 121 from Dubai, 69 from Umm Al Quwain, and 28 from Ras Al Khaimah. In an effort to bring families back together and give them a second chance at life, the businessman also settled their bills and paid for their return flights, according to the online publicaton for the Telugu community living in the Gulf.
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