Ministry of Home Affairs have stated that the use of excessive force by Maldives Correctional Service in controlling an unrest at Maafushi Prison on Thursday night is unacceptable.
While some inmates and prison officers are reported to be injured due to the incident, the case will be thoroughly investigated and necessary action will be taken against those who are responsible, Home Ministry said in a statement released on Saturday.
The statement further read that staff from the Ministry's inspection section were immediately dispatched to the prison following the incident, who spoke with the inmates and senior officers of the prison.
The team identified that while a Corrections officer was injured due to an inmate attack, several inmates also received physical injuries of different extents. Corrections officers had engaged in excessive use of force to take control of the situation, which had resulted in additional injuries, said the ministry. Those injured in the unrest were immediately treated for their injuries.
In their statement, the Ministry condemned the excessive use of force and the resulting injuries caused to inmates.
"The government will bring the necessary changes to avoid such an incident from occurring again", the ministry assured.
It was earlier reported that a prison officer was attacked using an iron rod by an inmate while being transferred to another cell. The weapon used for the assault has been recovered, and the jail has been returned to normalcy, corrections earlier said.
However, reports say pepper spray was used against some inmates in addition to an inmate's head being shaved after the officer was injured. Corrections has denied the reports of shaving an inmates' head.
