State authorities have resumed the use of Monitor and Control (MoniCon) tags to monitor criminals.
Minister of Home Affairs Imran Abdulla stated that the Maldives Police Service (MPS) has been given the authority to monitor and control criminals by using the electronic ankle tags under a court order. Minister Imran assured that the police service will not face the administrative and implementation difficulties encountered in the past. He also said that MoniCon tags are allowed to be used under the Prevention of Terrorism Act but that the government aims to explore additional uses for the tags to reduce the prison population.
A MoniCon tag has been recently placed on Ahmed Ismail, who is charged with conspiracy to commit an act of terrorism and aiding and abetting an act of terrorism over the murder of journalist Ahmed Rilwan. His trial is ongoing at the Criminal Court.
The home ministry procured 100 MoniCon tags last year. MoniCon orders are issued by the High Court based on the request by the home ministry. The tags enable the government to monitor the activities of an individual released from prison. The court has the authority to sentence any individual to prison if they violate the MoniCon order.