The National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) of the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) has revealed in its annual report that detainees at Dhoonidhoo Custodial Centre are subjected to inhumane punishment, including being handcuffed and confined in a cage for disobedience.
According to the NPM’s report for the past year, detainees at Dhoonidhoo are isolated and kept handcuffed in a cage located within the custodial exercise yard. This cage is situated in an unsheltered area exposed to direct and intense sunlight.
"It was noted that this area [the cage] becomes extremely hot during the afternoon, and detainees are sometimes kept there for extended periods on a mat with their hands and feet restrained by clip-handcuffs," the report stated.
Although police officers claimed that detainees held in the cage are granted opportunities to use the restroom and perform prayers, the NPM noted that these activities are not logged in the official system.
"Incident reports reviewed by the NPM indicate that in some cases, detainees were handcuffed and isolated after using foul language toward prison officers or disobeying orders during search procedures," the report added.
Under existing regulations, if a detainee remains defiant after being temporarily removed from their cell as a disciplinary measure, or acts in a manner that poses a threat of injury to themselves or officers, handcuffs may be used to restrain them.
However, officers are only authorized to use such restraints to stop a detainee's actions if they are being disobedient and behaving in a way that could cause physical harm or danger to themselves or the custodial staff.
Detainee arbitrarily isolated at Fuvahmulah Police Station
Furthermore, the NPM reported that during a visit to the Fuvahmulah Police Station, it was discovered that a detainee had been isolated for seven days after becoming violent and assaulting a migrant worker delivering food.
While the custodial system logged that the detainee’s privileges were revoked as a disciplinary measure for disobedience, there was no documentary record of the isolation. The NPM highlighted that regulations do not permit isolating a detainee for seven days as a means of revoking privileges.
Regulations state that if a person in custodial remand violates jail rules or the law, authorities may decide to withhold or temporarily suspend certain privileges provided within the facility.
The NPM also noted that incident reports from Family and Children’s Service Centres (FCSC) and Amaan Veshi shelters indicated that children are sometimes barred from participating in certain activities as a disciplinary measure.
However, the NPM stated that the incident reports failed to specify which activities the children were being excluded from as a form of punishment.
