Corrections: Medical arrangements are made by inmates

Maldives Correctional Service has said that they do not force anyone in their custody into medical treatment and the treatments are arranged by the inmates themselves.

A statement issued by the Correctional Service today said that a person in jail or prison are taken to consult a doctor when they make a request. Inmates would talk to the doctor on their own and the Correctional Service does not ask for specific treatments or medications.

While the Correctional Service has made such a statement, the family of the former Vice President, Ahmed Adheeb, currently service a 33-year-prison sentence, has previously issued a statement saying that they are not happy how the Correctional Service is handling Adheeb's medical efforts and made allegations that the Correctional Service is attempting to give an unknown injection to Adheeb.

Responding to the allegations, the statement from the Correctional Service said that doctors are not ordered to administer a specific injection or do a specific scan on any inmate and all decisions on medical treatment is made by doctors or inmates themselves.

The Correctional Service said that they do not influence when it comes to which doctor an inmate is going to meet and the decision is left for the hospital to make.

In response to the allegations that the Correctional Service do not share the medical documents with the families of some inmates, the Correctional Service said that the documents are available upon request to the families with the consent of the inmate. And in such a condition, the Service has never held back medical documents from the families.

Correctional Service said that they are always providing the basic services to the inmates without any obstruction. And they would be taking appropriate steps within the law against the false allegations directed at the Correctional Service.

While a statement has been issued by the Correctional Service on the medical treatment of inmates out today, a number of cases have been reported of inmates dying without adequate medical treatment. And a number of people has raised concerns with allegations of the Correctional Service being careless with the treatment of inmates.