Commissioner of Prisons, Ahmed Mohamedfulhu has said that extending the capacity and over-crowding at the prisons across the country are infringing the rights of the inmates.

Speaking on PSM’s “Raajje Miadhu” program last night, the Commissioner of Prisons said that there are people being sentenced to prison for small crimes with very short sentences including those sentenced to 15 days.

He said that some prisons have exceeded their capacity by 30 percent and have hindered the basic services and facing challenges.

The Commissioner of Prisons said that there are a number of patients that require specialist doctors and is taking a long time to see a doctor because the prison inmates need to go through the same procedures as the general public. And although there’s a set number of tokens for inmates, it is a very few amount of tokens compared to the number of consultations that are required.

And although the prisons are close to the capital, the inmates have to be transferred via boat. To find a solution to the issue, a medical center is being developed at the Maafushi prison.

Commissioner Ahmed Mohamedfulhu further said that the medical center being developed will be used host visiting doctors and provide medical consultation to the inmates and do tests.