Sri Lanka Prison Violence Kills 25 Amid Human Rights Concerns

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

COLOMBO (Worthy News) – Sri Lanka’s deadliest prison unrest in years reached its deadliest point Monday, with authorities confirming that at least 25 people were killed and about 100 injured as security forces struggled to contain two days of clashes involving rival groups of inmates.

The violence began Sunday after tensions erupted among convicted prisoners and inmates held in temporary detention at the prison in the coastal city of Negombo, about 35 kilometers (22 miles) north of the commercial capital, Colombo, officials said.

“They (the inmates) started attacking the prison officials,” prison spokesman A.C. Gajanayake told reporters.

He said some inmates also attempted to escape but were stopped by security personnel.

PRISON CLASHES ESCALATE

An official at the main state-run hospital treating victims explained that seven prison officials and 18 inmates were among the dead, while 43 injured people were receiving treatment there.

Three other hospitals were also caring for dozens of additional wounded, the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara said the violence was triggered by rival criminal gangs linked to the illegal drug trade before spreading throughout the prison.

Authorities stressed that order had been restored by Monday evening after police special units, prison officers, and army troops were deployed to secure the facility. Officials said inmates believed to have orchestrated the violence were transferred to two other prisons.

OVERCROWDED JAILS UNDER SCRUTINY

The bloodshed has renewed attention on Sri Lanka’s overcrowded prison system, where more than 39,000 inmates are held in facilities designed for only about 10,000 prisoners, according to official figures and prison observers.

Human Rights Watch, the U.N. human rights office, and Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Commission are among the organizations that have repeatedly warned that chronic overcrowding, poor sanitation, inadequate medical care, lengthy pretrial detention, and deaths in custody have created dangerous conditions in the country’s prisons.

They have urged the government to implement reforms to bring detention facilities into line with international human rights standards.

The prison unrest was the deadliest in Sri Lanka since the 2012 Welikada Prison riot, when 27 inmates were killed during a security operation. The latest bloodshed is expected to intensify calls for prison reform while renewing debate over overcrowding, inmate safety, and broader human rights concerns in the South Asian island nation of about 22 million people.

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