A protest was staged outside the Welikada prison today against the alleged inhumane treatment of prisoners.
The Liberation Movement organised the protest saying the prisoners were kept in appalling conditions in the prison.
The protesters also condemned the recent attack against female detainees.
“The female detainees’ protest on the 21st of August, demanding expedition of their court cases and adequate food, water and sanitation facilities inside the prison, came to an end with the prison officials brutally assaulting the female detainees and transferring some of them to other prisons. A week ago at the end of a similar protest on the 13th August 2018, the Minister of Justice and Prison Reform had promised the female detainees to solve the issues inside the prison. It is also reported that one female detainee has died inside the prison on 24th of August,” the protesters said.
The protesters said that this is not the first time detainees in the Welikada prison were assaulted within the prison.
They alleged that the previous Government killed 26 detainees inside the prison.
“Although the regime has changed extra legal actions and individuals who perform them continue without any restraint. The murder of political prisoners Nimalaruban and Dilrukshan in 2012 and the attack on female detainees although 6 years apart has happened under the watch of the same Superintendent Officer who is alleged to have a hand in the attacks,” the Liberation Movement said.
They said that attacks in the nature of this only showcases that the law in the country has now transformed into lawlessness.
Courtesy: Colombo Gazette
