Male’, Maldives – Parliamentary committee report recommends Parole Board members to be changed into a full-time position.
Prisoners and detainees in the Maldives, have submitted a petition to the People’s Majlis, because parole and clemency has not been granted to prisoners who have earned the right.
This issue was investigated by the Parliamentary committee who issues a report stating that the reason is due to that fact that all the nine Parole Board members work in other jobs. The report recommends that the law should be amended to include that Parole Board members should consist of full-time members who do not attend other jobs.
The Board of Parole is an independent body and the entity that considers and determines parole eligibility, sets conditions of release, and revokes parole when the conditions are violated.
The current Parole Board members include people from Maldives Correctional Service (MCS), Prosecutor General’s Office, and some from Health and Education sectors.
The Parole Board determines which incarcerated individuals serving indeterminate sentences in state prison may be released to community supervision. The Parole Board also has the authority to revoke community supervision when it determines a releasee has violated the conditions of release in an important respect.
The report added that there is a lack of standard operating procedure (SOP), and an absence of evaluation guidelines for determining parole in line with international best practice.
