Im looking for the title of a movie I remember watching from the early 90's about a secret island prison.?

First off its not "No Escape" but it its similar I guess. I think I remember the island being for political prisoners (and its not the series 'The Prisoner' either). One specific part I remember is an alarm would sound and everyone had to hurry to their houses and a scanner would scan their thumbs. The main character figured out a way to get past this and used the opportunity to escape via a boat or raft that someone else had made I think. It had a parallel plot happening off the island at the same time. Can anyone help me find this? I'm sorry I cant be more specific but I was like 8 or 10 when I saw this.