Maldives Correctional Service (MCS) has held the closing ceremony of the “Principles and concepts of countering violent extremism and high security prison operations” at Maafushi Prison today.
The certificates were awarded to participants by Commissioner of Prisons Ahmed Mohamed Fulhu.
The main purpose of conducting the training is to create awareness among prison officers about preventing the spread of extremist ideologies at prisons. In that regard, a Special Management Unit (SMU) was established at Maafushi Prison to rehabilitate such inmates. 28 prison officers from Maafushi Prison participated in the training.
Speaking at the ceremony, Commissioner of Prisons Ahmed Mohamed Fulhu stated that spreading radical thinking in the name of religion is an issue faced by the whole world. He stated that extremists continue to recruit inmates from prisons and as the custodian of prisons, MCS needs to be vigilant about the fact. Addressing the participants of the programme, the Commissioner said that he expected the participants to do their individual responsibilities and to use the knowledge gained from this training practically in their working environment. He thanked the Department of Justice of United States of America for their support and assistance and hoped for their continuous support in conducting such crucial training programmes.
Consultant Mr Mike Pannek from International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Programme (ICITAP) of the Department of Justice of United States of America, who facilitated the programme advised participants to fully-utlise the knowledge learned from the training. He further added that rehabilitation and reforming of people with extremist ideologies is a huge advancement to countering extremism.
