The correctional service works like a gang, says prominent attorney Abdulla Haseen.

Speaking on RaajjeTV’s Fala Surukhee programme on Sunday night, Haseen said that correctional officers help prisoners get a hold of banned items such as phones.

Highlighting the lack of oversight, Haseen said that abusing prisoners is a culture in prisons, which began being challenged only after the reform movement became prominent. Before this, there was no mechanism to spot abuse in prisons, he said, adding that efforts are now being made to solve this issue.

He said that while prison was once used to keep a part of the population isolated and punish them, it is now a place to rehabilitate and help people give a second chance in civilized society. Questioning whether the current Maldivian prison system can achieve this, he said that prisoners should not be arbitrarily punished and should have access to medical treatment and other services.