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Frontline Socialist Party writes to M.U.M. Ali Sabry over activists being infected in prison

06 Sep 2021

  • Seeks urgent meeting to discuss health safety, FR violation
By Pamodi Waravita The Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) has requested an urgent meeting with Justice Minister M.U.M. Ali Sabry (PC) regarding the life-threatening situation that five arrested student activists are currently facing in prison, owing to the Covid-19 outbreak, and the violation of their fundamental rights (FR). In a letter to Ali Sabry PC on 5 September, FSP Education Secretary Pubudu Jayagoda said that Inter-University Students’ Federation (IUSF) Convenor Wasantha Mudalige, Sri Jayewardenepura University General Student Association President Amila Sandeepa, and FSP Administrative Secretary Chameera Koswatte had been sent back to the Welikada Prison from the Kilinochchi District General Hospital on 2 September, after 10 days of treatment for Covid-19 – which Jayagoda claims the activists contracted while in prison. Mudalige, Sandeepa, and Koswatte tested positive for the virus after being held at the Badulla Taldena Covid-19 Quarantine Centre, which is run by the Prisons Department, following their arrest. “When they tested positive for the virus, they had already been under the charge of the Prisons Department for about three weeks. Thus, it is clear that they contracted the virus after their arrest. The Taldena Covid-19 Centre, which has a capacity of only about 80 inmates, had held about 160 inmates. A cell that can only hold about 10 inmates in Welikada currently holds about 40. The prisons are not following even the basic health guidelines or sanitation requirements and overcrowding is rampant. Furthermore, the activists who got infected with Covid-19 were brought back to Welikada, without even a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test being done on them, which raises serious concerns about the threat to their own health, as well as to the health of other inmates.” Jayagoda also pointed out that Rajarata University student activist Heshan Harshana, who was arrested on 16 August, had not been sent to a quarantine centre before being sent to the Welikada Prison. He questioned why the health regulations are being violated in this manner. According to the FSP, the arrested activists are also being denied their basic right to legal consultation, as lawyers are not allowed to meet them due to the ongoing pandemic. The FSP has questioned Ali Sabry PC as to why lawyers cannot meet their clients under strict health guidelines. Last month, the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) raised concerns about three arrested student activists contracting Covid-19 while in remand custody and stated that the Government is responsible for their safety. Education sector unions and activists who had participated in protests during the first week of August were arrested in the past few weeks. Activists Koshila Hansamali Perera and Koswatte were arrested on 3 August, while Mudalige and Sandeepa were arrested on 5 August. IUSF representative Udara Sandaruwan and former IUSF Convener Ven. Rathkarawwe Jinarathana Thera were allegedly threatened on a number of occasions over the past two weeks. A range of demonstrations took place throughout Colombo and around the country over the course of the last month in protest over the Kotelawala National Defence University (KNDU) Bill and in demand of salary increments for school teachers. The arrests of over 31 activists, trade unionists, and students were made in July at the protests condemning the KDNU Bill. Although bail was later granted to these arrestees, approximately 16 of them, including Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) General Secretary Joseph Stalin, were then forcibly sent to quarantine centres for 14 days. At the time, it received widespread condemnation from many parties, including the country’s main Parliamentary Opposition, the Samagi Jana Balawegeya (SJB), the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), the Lawyers for Social Justice organisation, and United Nations Resident Co-ordinator in Sri Lanka Hanaa Singer-Hamdy.  


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