The prison system is facing severe overcrowding with 890 inmates currently unable to be released due to the legal requirement of non-parole periods.

Fiji Corrections Service Commissioner, Dr. Jalesi Nakarawa, highlighted this issue, stating that the lack of a parole board and the enforcement of non-parole periods are key contributors to the overcrowded conditions.

Dr Nakarawa highlighted this during a visit by the Training and Research Division of the Japanese Ministry of Justice as the team visited FCS to gather information pertaining to their current operational activities, the challenges faced by FCS and the way forward.

“We haven’t released any prisoner on parole but the courts are imposing non-parole periods which means they cannot be released under parole until that period is complete. But the Act says that this non-parole period supersedes remission. The commissioner is empowered by law to grant one-third remission of the sentence. But this has been prevented by the non-parole period.”

Corrections Commissioner Dr Nakarawa also believes that legislative reforms will address this issue.

“Because at the moment the Act is saying the non-parole period supersedes remission, so we are unable to release quite a number of prisoners because of the non-parole period attached to the sentence. Even though we are not releasing them under parole, if that subsection is repealed, we can then release prisoners in remission. So that is what we are trying to address.”

Deputy Commissioner Auta Moceisuva says they have inmates who are over 60 and 80 years old who are lying down due to their medical conditions.

He says they agree that they must provide humane treatment of offenders.

Moceisuva says they do not have the expertise to look after people who come with serious medical conditions.

He reveals that in one particular prison, there are about 51 sickly inmates out of which 10 are bedridden.

He also says that the removal of the non-parole period may ease the burden