Fifty inmates transferred to house arrest

More than fifty inmates from Maafushi jail serving sentences for the possession of less than three grams of drugs have been transferred to house arrest under a rehabilitation programme, the Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation (DPRS) has said.

Moosa Azim, deputy superintendent of the jail, told Minivan News both the transferred inmates and their families have signed a declaration agreeing to regular urine tests and monitoring to ensure they remain under house arrest.

“They have been transferred under a rehabilitation programme as our regulations allow it for inmates sentenced for possession of less than three grams,” he said.

Mohamed Zuhair, president’s office press secretary, said the transfer of inmates was originally targeted for 10 December, World Human Rights Day.

“But it was delayed due to legal issues and because it requires inter-sectoral cooperation, as many institutions such as the DPRS and parole board are involved,” he said.

Zuhair said the president was concerned that inmates eligible for release have not been “given relief” one year into the new government.

Shortly after coming to power, the new government released 119 inmates to house arrest under the parole system.

Vice-President Dr Mohamed Waheed was put in charge of a committee to compile a list of inmates eligible for release.

Dr Waheed visited Maafushi jail as well as the temporary jail in Addu to speak to inmates and learn their concerns, Zuhair said.

The committee will oversee the establishment of a mechanism to ensure monitored telephone calls from inmates to their families, he said.

The committee reviewed the cases of inmates based on certain categories, Zuhair explained, such as inmates eligible for transfer to house arrest or rehabilitation centres and those sentenced under “old definitions” of the old constitution, which considered the possession of one gram to be ‘dealing’.

Inmates who spoke to Minivan News today said DPRS officers came with a handwritten list of 60 people on Friday and “gave all of them haircuts”.

One inmate said they were informed that there was not enough space in the rehabilitation centres and the programme would be conducted in Male’.

After contacting the inmates’ families, both were made to sign a declaration for the release.

But, they said, some inmates who were on the list were not taken, including two who were sentenced for possession of more than three grams.

“They told me there was no space on the dhoni (boat) and I can go tomorrow,” said one inmate. “But the next day, when my family called them, they said there was a slight problem.”

He claimed several inmates were left back at Maafushi after signing the agreement.

“My family was very disappointed,” he said. “I felt very sad because we already signed it and I was ready to leave.”

Both Zuhair and Azim said the list prepared by the president’s office was “not final” and information was still being verified.

A bill on clemency and commuting sentences proposed by the government is on the agenda tomorrow for the third and final reading.

Zuhair said the president’s office was doing what it could for inmates before the legislation was passed, while more would be released in the future.

“The absence of laws is no reason not to give everyone their legal rights,” he said.