19 prisoners transferred to Coëtivy island |15 November 2017

Nineteen inmates have been transferred from the Montagne Posée prison to the open prison on Coëtivy island.

Accompanied by three prison guards, the 19 inmates were expected to reach Coëtivy late yesterday afternoon. This will bring the total of prisoners on the island of Coëtivy to 31 since there were already 12 there.

Seven prison guards have the task of overseeing and maintaining the safety and security of prisoners on the island of Coëtivy which is 290 kilometres from Mahé.

Speaking to Seychelles NATION, prisons superintendent Vic Tirant said the inmates who have been transferred to Coëtivy will all fall under the prison division’s rehabilitation and reform programme.

“The prisoners will be involved in farming, animal rearing, fishing and other activities on the island. This will help us in our quest to make the prisons division self-sufficient, meaning we expect to no longer approach the government for a budget to run the prisons. If we happen to achieve our goal, we also hope to sell the products from the island on the local market to help in the drive to reduce the cost of living in Seychelles,” said Mr Tirant.

The fact that five of the 19 prisoners transferred to Coëtivy island were on Marie-Louise island and three of them are serving life sentences, Seychelles NATION wanted to know if they won’t be a danger to the rest of the prison population on the island.

Mr Tirant replied: “Many people talk about prisoners being very dangerous individuals. Most of these prisoners have spent more than 10 years behind bars and we know them very well.

“Before the prisoners are sent Coëtivy under the rehabilitation and reform programme, they are interviewed and classified as low, medium or high risk criminals. The two main risks that they may pose are escaping from prison and being violent. All the prisoners chosen to follow the programme fall in the low risk category.

“Like all of us, these prisoners too deserve a second chance and under the rehabilitation and reform programme we are giving them the opportunity to learn something which they can do when they are set free. This will also help them to prepare themselves to live a normal life after serving time.”

The prison on Marie-Louise where convicted drug traffickers and other repeat offenders were sent, closed down on September 30, 2017 and the decision was taken following consultations between the Ministry of Home Affairs, the prison services, and National Assembly Speaker Patrick Pillay following a working visit there in January.

The facilities in place on Marie-Louise will be used by the Seychelles People's Defence Forces for the training of recruits