A number of inmates who spoke to Minivan News today said the ESG charged the block at about 11.30pm and beat up prisoners.“At about 6pm last night they cut off our water and electricity,” said one inmate. “So we started banging on the metal door and demanded our rights.”
He said guards first removed prisoners from cells A1 and A6 at 8.30pm and B5 at 11.30pm.
He added “the force” was in full combat gear with masks and batons and beat up inmates indiscriminately.
Following the violence, twelve inmates who had been badly injured were taken to solitary confinement, he said.
Among the injuries, the inmates said, one had his hand broken, another had his eyes badly damaged, and one was so badly beaten he did not regain consciousness until this morning.
The inmates further allege the department of penitentiary and rehabilitation (DPRS) in charge of the jail was refusing to take the injured inmates to Male’ for medical treatment.
“They are trying to cover it up,” said another inmate. “They are going to say we tried to break out.”
Speaking to Minivan News today, Mohamed Rasheed, director general of DPRS, said he had heard reports of violence at the jail.
“We will send a team to investigate today,” he said. “Even if any of our staff has done this, as they say, we will take measures.”
He added DPRS respected the rights of inmates and would fully investigate the incident.In April, tensions erupted in Maafushi jail and inmates smashed several wings before setting them on fire.
Following the incident, two-thirds of the prison population was transferred to Unit Two. Inmates said 344 prisoners were locked up in 86 cells. With four inmates in each cells, they said, two had to sleep on the floor.
Inmates also alleged that the ESG routinely attacked and beaten up prisoners.
Shortly after the new government came to power in November last year, a presidential committee met with prisoners and promised amnesty and a reduction of sentences.
A majority of inmates voted for the Maldivian Democratic Party-led coalition in the October elections.
But, several inmates told Minivan News at the time, the new government failed to deliver on pledges to provide rehabilitation and parole programmes.
Prisoners have staged two hunger strikes since the new government came to power to protest the lack of concrete measures.
Inmates agreed to call off the first hunger strike on 3 December after Ahmed Shafeeq, state minister of the home ministry, said the prison population would be reduced from over 600 to just 39.
Although the government did not respond officially to the second hunger strike the following month, acting Home Minister Ameen Faisal and Health Minister Aminath Jameel announced plans to transfer 300 inmates for rehabilitation abroad or new minimum-security jails.
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