Commissioner of Prisons: Rehabilitation of convicts hard but important work

The efforts to rehabilitate convicts and reintegrate them into society as productive citizens is hard but important work, states Commissioner of Prisons, Ahmed Mohamed Fulhu.

He made the comment during the ceremony Saturday evening to mark Maafushi Prison’s 24th anniversary.

Speaking at the ceremony, Ahmed said the biggest goal of the prison service is to provide inmates with the basic services they have the right to, and to rehabilitate them and reintegrate them back into society as good citizens.

The work is hard but important for this country, he said.

Ahmed highlighted on the key programs at the Maafushi Prison the past year; the successful completion of the first drug rehab program, the establishment of a medical center, and the launch of online specialist doctor consultations.

The prison has also opened a special management unit with the capacity of 100 inmates to segregate inmates, and has begun transferring inmates to the unit.

Ahmed expressed appreciation for the sacrifice and hard work of prison officers during the Covid-19 pandemic, and advised them to learn from history and work for betterment.

Speaking of the current challenges facing the prison, Ahmed said barracks for officers would be developed next year, along with an 18-cell unit and a 50-cell unit.

He also spoke of the smuggle of contraband into prisons, and noted that it involved some prison officers.

Ahmed said the prison service had a zero-tolerance policy for such crimes, and that he would not hesitate to mete out harsh punishment against any officer found to have been involved.

The ceremony saw presentation of certificates to officers for outstanding performance, and a minute of silence for Private Adam Naushad, who died on duty at the prison.