The government has formally inaugurated a dedicated Juvenile Long-Term Secure Facility at Asseyri Prison, located on Kaafu Atoll’s Himmafushi. The initiative marks a substantive enhancement of the nation's juvenile justice infrastructure and reinforces a system increasingly focused on rehabilitation.
Presiding over the ceremony, Minister of Homeland Security and Technology Ali Ihusaan described the launch as a tangible step towards "strengthening law enforcement". His remarks reflected the administration’s broader commitment to expanding rehabilitative services within the national correctional framework.
The centre, legally mandated to house juvenile offenders sentenced to extended detention, has been purposefully designed to support both confinement and personal development. According to the Maldives Correctional Service, detainees will receive age-appropriate academic instruction alongside structured counselling programmes, psychiatric care, Islamic guidance, and life skills education, all intended to ease reintegration into society.
Two additional facilities were unveiled during the inauguration. 'A'aily Hiyaa' provides space for detainees to meet with family members in a setting conducive to maintaining emotional ties, while 'Hirun'dhu Hiyaa', a new sports pavilion, offers recreational support to correctional officers stationed at the site.
The long-term centre forms part of a continuum of juvenile detention infrastructure. It complements the Juvenile Detention Centre launched in January 2022, which remains operational for short-term custody of young offenders.
A number of senior officials attended the event, including Commissioner of Prisons Hassan Zareer, Deputy Commissioner Ibrahim Mohamed Didi, and Assistant Superintendent of Prisons and Director of Asseyri Prison, Ismail Naseer. Among other attendees were uniformed prison officers and Deputy Commissioner of the Maldives Customs Service, Abdulla Waheed.