Govt plans open prison island for minor offenders, says president

President Mohamed Muizzu said on Thursday that the government plans to develop an island under an open prison model to house prisoners convicted of minor offences.

In his presidential address at the opening sitting of Parliament this year, the President said the project would introduce the open prison island concept in the Maldives for the first time. He said the island would function as a correctional facility where inmates would live and work as part of their sentences.

The President said responsibility for the project has been assigned to the Maldives Correctional Service and that construction work on the facility is scheduled to begin in the middle of this year. He said the government aims to start housing prisoners on the island by the end of the year.

According to the President, individuals convicted of minor offences requiring minimum security arrangements will be transferred to the open prison island. He said inmates housed there will receive training in agriculture and other work-related activities.

The President did not disclose the location of the island and said further details of the project will be announced at a later stage.

He said the policy is aimed at transforming prisons into institutions focused on rehabilitation, providing inmates with opportunities to develop skills and prepare for reintegration into society, rather than serving only as places of confinement.

The President also said the government has revised sentencing policy to allow for the deduction of an additional day from a prison sentence for each day an inmate participates regularly in rehabilitation programmes and maintains an acceptable standard of conduct.