Parliament of the Maldives has passed the report by the Petition Committee on the concerns raised by inmates of Asseyri Prison, with the proposal to request clemency for well-behaved inmates at the prison.
The Petition Committee had conducted an inquiry following the submission of a petition with concerns from over 200 inmates at Asseyri Prison. The inquiry report was passed with votes from 26 parliamentarians.
The report includes a proposal to request the President to grant clemency to well-behaved inmates at the prison under a special policy. The report proposes the implementation of a non-custodial sentence for individuals who commit small crimes, where they can atone to their crimes through community service rather than serving a prison sentence.
The committee report also highlighted the importance of strengthening the monitoring of the prison, considering the ease of smuggling drugs and tobacco into the prison. The report also proposed amendments to the Parole Act and the Clemency Act to prevent delays in granting parole or clemency to deserving inmates.