Later that day, Fathimath Nisreen, the secretary of online Sandhaanu publishers Ahmed Didi and Mohamed Zaki, were arrested by the National Security Service (NSS) during a crackdown on pro-democracy reformists and taken to Maafushi.

[7] In 2009 a number of riots and jailbreaks broke out, and on January 10 detainees went on a hunger strike in protest at the government's failure to improve the poor conditions of overcrowding and inadequate lighting.

On 17 October 2014, two murder convicts – Fariyash Ahmed of Gaafu Alifu, Maamendhoo and Ibrahim Shahum Adam of Malé – escaped from the prison by cutting the rods of the ventilator.

[12] These incidents have necessitated strengthening the existing 20 ft high wall with additional security measures such as electronic surveillance cameras, better lights and automatic locking systems.

[12] In September 2015, British barrister Amal Clooney met Mohamed Nasheed, the jailed former president of the Maldives, at the prison ahead of a court hearing over his imprisonment.

Now, the Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Services (DPRS) of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) has been put in place with the task of running the Maafushi Prison.