Govt considers building a central prison, shutting down others

Homeland Security Minister Ali Ihusan says the government is considering developing a central prison. with inmates segregated based on nature of crime, to address logistical issues and the high cost involved in running prisons in different locations.

In an interview to PSM on Wednesday night, Ihusan said President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu envisions centralizing the prison system. He said the government was checking the feasibility of such a change.

“The prison will have designated areas for different security levels. And within these areas, the inmates will be further segregated based on gender, and then by the nature of crime,” he said.

Ihusan said the current prisons lack space and staff.

But a central prison will be developed in par with international standards, in order to keep the prison population segregated, he said.

Ihusan said the central prison will also focus on rehabilitation.

“Our goal is to ensure that every individual that enters the penal system is rehabilitated once they rejoin the community,” he said.

Ihusan said the central prison will be built in the Male’ area, so its closer to the courts and medical care facilities.

“It gets harder the further away the prison is to these facilities. It results in the state incurring more costs. Therefore, this can only be done with minimal cost, with minimal recurrent expenditure, the closer it is to Male’,” he said.

The latest information shared by the Maldives Correctional Service show there are over 1,300 inmates in the Maafushi Prison, the Male’ Prison, and the Asseyri Prison in K. Himmafushi.

The Male’ Prison has now been shut down, with the inmates transferred to other facilities.