Maldives’ President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has revealed that the government is developing an open prison concept for incarcerated individuals.
While delivering the Presidential Address, President Muizzu said that the government aims to develop an island under an open prison concept where prisoners would be able to serve their time and contribute productively, with prisoner rehabilitation and reintegration as the end goal.
Maldives Correctional Service has been tasked with this project, the President revealed. The President also provided a timeline for this project, stating that infrastructure works related facilities etc. for the completion of the project will commence mid this year and that the expectations is that prisoners will be transferred by the end of the year.
Furthermore, the President also provided details on government efforts to improve security and services in existing prison facilities. In this regard, He said that the government has provided Maafushi Prison with the most state-of-the-art scanners to identify and catch illegal items that are smuggles into the prison. He said the scanner will be installed and operational from April this year. The President said he hopes that will tackle the issues of scam calls and other such illegal activities within the prison. The President also said the government’s broader vision and approach towards prisoners in one of rehabilitation and reintegration into the society as productive members, rather than just carrying out their sentences jailed.
As such, the president remarked that policy has been amended in such a way that, if a prisoner maintains the acceptable level of discipline and completes the rehabilitation programme, it will be directly reflected in a reduction in the individual’s prison sentence.
The President also said it is important for prisoners to be treated according to proper standards, ensuring human rights are maintained and ensuring every prisoner has access to his or her rights guaranteed by the constitution. The President lamented that until 17 November 2023, many prisoners did not have access to electricity in their cells. As such, the current administration has ensured that necessities such as electricity are accessible to all prisoners.