Negombo Prison tragedy exposes prison crisis

By Shanika Sriyananda Parents and relatives were still crying, cursing and blaming angrily searching for their loved ones, either their bodies or their names in the lists after they have been transferred to other prisons from the ill-fated Negombo Prison, where over 27 were killed and 100 were sustained serious injuries during two-days of clashes inside its premises. “I have only one son and he has been imprisoned for over one and half years now. I do not have any clue about him after the riots,” cries a mother who says she makes a living by selling jackfruit seeds. Another mother cries and curses the authorities over her son’s death. “My son’s body was badly damaged. His eyes were cut with sharp metal pieces and body was brutally attacked with poles and bricks,” The harrowing footage on live news coverages and later on social media take a breath away from many when seeing lifeless bodies of prison guards and inmates bleeding from heads which were brutally attacked with iron poles and bricks were lifted to military vehicles and ambulances. Most of them had their last breath or are lying on hospital beds with serious injuries now. Meanwhile, the Prisons Department issuing a statement has paid tribute to seven officers who lost their lives in the line of duty during the unrest at the Negombo Prison on Monday. The department named them as ‘heroes’ who sacrificed their lives in duty. The officers remembered are: Jailer S.H.G. Chandrawansha, Sergeant R.P.R. Sanjeewa, Sergeant B.N.N. Tharanga, Sergeant T.N.R. Thilakasiri, Sergeant D.W. Pushpakumara, Sergeant S.D.S. Aebywardena and Sergeant A.D. Tharanga. Their stories are harrowing and deadly. Each of the dead and injured were brutally attacked during the country’s one of the scariest prison riots in recent history. On social media, some accuse a prison officer for opening fire from the main gate of the prison during the height of violence but acting Commissioner General of Prisons Prasad Hemantha Kumara defended the prison officer saying he acted to prevent a mass escape and protect trapped prison officers. The Prisons Department chief told media yesterday that social media footage showed only part of the incident, while inmates had already breached the first security gate and were moving towards a second gate. “The officers had to take decisive action, despite putting their own lives at risk, to prevent the situation from escalating further,” he said. Kumara said that officers inside the prison were attacked while trying to control the violence, and the shooting was a necessary measure to prevent the situation from escalating further. However, he confirmed that authorities had received no prior intelligence warning of a possible violent incident at the Negombo Prison. While the responsible authorities and the Government are taking steps to find a root cause for this bloodshed incident, the Committee for Protecting the Rights of Prisoners (CPRP) yesterday alleged that inmates transferred from the Negombo Prison after deadly violence at the Negombo Prison are being assaulted and tortured by prison officials. This strong accusation has raised fresh concerns over the treatment of prisoners and the state of Sri Lanka’s prison system. The CPRP stated that the tragedy was not an isolated incident. Instead, it exposed long-standing problems that have been building up for decades. They point to severe overcrowding, a shortage of prison officers, poor rehabilitation programs, delays in the justice system and outdated prison laws. In a statement, CPRP Chairman and Attorney-at-Law Senaka Perera said the organisation had received information that prisoners transferred from Negombo to other prisons were being assaulted. “The CPRP has been receiving reports that inmates who were transferred from the Negombo Prison to other prisons following the recent unrest are being assaulted and subjected to torture by prison officials,” he said. He said information already received indicated that inmates transferred to the Welikada Prison had been subjected to severe assaults and harassment. “If such assaults are indeed being inflicted upon inmates, the Committee expresses its strongest displeasure and condemnation. We urgently call upon all responsible authorities to halt such violence immediately,” Perera said. Meanwhile, the CPRP has also requested the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka to immediately investigate the allegations and ensure the protection of the transferred inmates. The Negombo prison carnage unfolded only weeks after the CPRP submitted a comprehensive prison reform proposal to the Ministry of Justice titled ‘Improving Sri Lanka’s Prison System: Reducing Overcrowding and Helping Inmates Rebuild Their Lives.’ The report argues that the country’s prison system has reached a critical point where overcrowding, administrative delays and the absence of rehabilitation have become major threats to both prisoners and prison officers. Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara, told Parliament yesterday, that he accepted responsibility for the incident as the minister in-charge of prisons. He also had an urgent meeting of senior prison officials. Stating that the Government had not underestimated the seriousness of the incident at any stage, the Minister revealed that a group involved in the unrest had intended to disrupt the measures taken by the prison authorities to prevent narcotics and other illegal items from entering the prison. “The violence began after inmates allegedly attempted to disrupt the prison’s anti-narcotics security mechanism, attacked two unarmed prison officers and later broke through an iron gate before emerging from inside the prison compound,” he explained. According to Minister Nanayakkara, the prison officers who lost their lives tragically were brutally assaulted with bricks and iron poles by the inmates during the violence. Explaining how violence at the Negombo prison erupted initially, he said whether it was the life of an inmate or a prison officer, all lives matter and it was a great loss to the country. Minister Nanayakkara, agreeing that there was lack of facilities for inmates, said the organised group of inmates had destroyed the CCTV system and the body scanner worth million rupees. “This shows that their intention of creating violence was to disrupt the anti-narcotic system in the prison,” he said adding that the Government pay highest respect for the prison officers who were committed to control the unrest while facing severe threats from the rioters and preventing a disaster not allowing the violent inmates breaking the main gate and entering onto streets with iron poles causing a threat to public safety. Meanwhile, Opposition MP Ajith P. Perera criticised the Government’s handling of the Negombo Prison violence, accusing Justice Minister Nanayakkara of failing to act decisively after the initial clashes erupted on Sunday. Speaking in Parliament, yesterday, he questioned why authorities did not separate rival inmate groups, strengthen security or deploy additional forces before the situation escalated. Perera also raised concerns over the absence of a permanent Commissioner General of Prisons and criticising the Minister for relying on social media for casualty information, called on the Government to provide a full account of its response, saying the public deserves answers on how one of the country’s deadliest prison incidents occurred. Speaking to the Daily FT, the CPRP Chairman Perera said the Government needed to seriously consider the pathetic situation in the entire prison system in the country and they hoped the authorities would follow the recommendations given by the CPRP to address issues effectively. “The authorities at least now accept that overcrowding in prisons triggers unrest and causes severe threat to the system. The maximum capacity in the Negombo prison is less than 600 but there were nearly 2,600 inmates including convicted male and female prisoners and remand prisoners,” he said. According to Perera, all the prisons have exceeded their maximum accommodation capacity by four fold. “The entire prison network can only accommodate only 10,800 inmates but there are over 41,000 prisoners sheltered in all prisons in the country. Until this serious issue of overcrowding is solved, the prison security is threatened,” he said, accusing the Government of hiding the truth without identifying the real cause. Perera said while continuing to appear for the rights of the prison inmates, the CPRP would lobby to implement their recommendations in the report and would also provide their suggestions to the newly appointed three-member expert committee to probe into the Negombo Prison unrest. The CPRP’s comprehensive prison reform report has clearly stated that the country’s prison system has reached a critical point where overcrowding, administrative delays and the absence of rehabilitation have become major threats to both prisoners and prison officers. Quoting official prison statistics, the report notes that Sri Lanka’s prison overcrowding rate stood at 111% in 2022, while previous international assessments found some remand prisons operating 200% to 300% above their intended capacity. The report states that overcrowding has resulted in increased death rates, riots and significant health problems, warning that many remand prisoners are forced to remain standing throughout the night due to the absence of sleeping space, while others sleep inside toilet areas. However, the CPRP cautions that security measures alone will not resolve the underlying crisis. “The prison system cannot continue to function merely by responding to emergencies after lives have been lost,” Perera said, adding that maintaining that overcrowding, delays in justice, inadequate rehabilitation and poor institutional governance remain the root causes that require urgent attention.

Negombo Prison tragedy exposes prison crisis | Daily FT