Juvenile rehab center to be built in previously inhabited island

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has decided that the juvenile rehab center planned by the government will be built in a previously inhabited island.

The government had previously announced plans to develop an island to rehabilitate juvenile delinquents, which would be called “Hope Island.”

In a statement on Sunday night, the President’s Office said that the center to rehabilitate juvenile delinquents will be built in an island with basic infrastructure, despite being uninhabited.

However, the statement did not specify which island had been selected.

According to the statement, President Muizzu made the decision following deliberations on a paper presented by the Home Ministry during a cabinet meeting held earlier on Sunday.

The President’s Office said the paper detailed the facilities the center will have, as well as the programs it will run. However, none of these details were disclosed in the statement.

In a meeting with the Parliament’s National Security Services Committee last week, Home Minister Ali Ihusan said the government plans to keep juvenile delinquents at “Hope Island” until they turn 18.

Ihusan said that once they turn 18, they will be assessed and either be reintegrated back to society while being monitored, or enlisted to the police or military.

He said that the latest assessment by the Home Ministry shows there are some 400 juveniles across the country with links to criminal gangs, in need of immediate intervention.