The Human Rights and Gender Committee of the People’s Majlis has called on the government to approve parole and clemency for inmates that are entitled to release.
In a report compiled by the committee in regard to the measures currently being implemented by the government of Maldives in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, the committee noted that swift measures are required to resolve prison congestion in case of a community transmission of the virus in these facilities.
Highlighting that the congestion at prisons will be the biggest challenge facing these facilities in the case of a community transmission, the report notes that bigger prison facilities currently hold prisoners over 40% of their capacities.
As such, the 750 inmate-capacity prison facility in Maafushi island currently holds 1,134 prisoners and the 150 inmate-capacity Malé Prison holds 207 prisoners.
Further, the report highlights that the number of individuals in remand will continue to surge as court proceedings are also moving at a slow pace.
With this being said, the committee report has urged the authorities to grant clemency for prisoners who are entitled to it.
The report goes on to note that the number of inmates pardoned by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih is significantly less in comparison to the urgency to decrease congestion in jails.
The Clemency Board had earlier this year, passed to forward requests for clemency to the president within three months of application.
Just a couple of day after the Greater Malé Region lockdown was imposed, the government freed 105 prisoners under the powers granted to the president under the Clemency Act. This was done as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of inmates and prison personnel at a time experts have stressed on the importance of decreasing prison congestion while the Covid-19 pandemic steadily sweeps across the nation.
The inmates were granted pardon in accordance with the counsel and guidelines provided by the United Nations sub-committee on Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (SPT), International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC).
