• Fines range from Rs 10,000-100,000 
• Justice Ministry requests public and NGO support to settle 
• Prisons hold 39,019 including 10,611 convicts, 28,408 remandees 

Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara yesterday (21) revealed that 1,454 convicted prisoners are unable to secure their release due to unpaid court-imposed fines, adding that Government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), as well as public and private institutions, can pay the fines to facilitate their release.

Responding to Opposition Parliamentarian Rohitha Abeygunawardhana, he said a programme was already in place under which various organisations and institutions paid fines on behalf of selected prisoners, enabling their release.

He said the opportunity was open to any interested party and that the Government was also examining the matter under the provisions of the Release of Remand Prisoners Act.

“There is already a programme in place through which various organisations select eligible prisoners and pay their fines so that they can be released. Any Governmental organisation or NGO can come forward to support this process. There are no restrictions from the Prisons Department preventing anyone from getting involved, and if any organisation wishes to help, there is no obstacle to doing so, provided that the applicable legal requirements are met,” he said.

Of the 1,454 prisoners unable to pay their fines, 421 owe between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000, while another 220 owe between Rs 15,000 and Rs 25,000. A further 361 prisoners owe between Rs 25,000 and Rs 50,000, while 245 owe between Rs 50,000 and Rs 100,000. The remaining 207 prisoners owe more than Rs 100,000.

Responding to Abeygunawardhana’s suggestion that some relief be considered for elderly prisoners, Nanayakkara said prisoners could not be released solely on the grounds of old age.

“Being over the age of 70 does not, by itself, provide grounds for releasing a prisoner. Some people enter prison after being convicted at the age of 68 or 69, and they cannot be released simply because they have turned 70. However, their health conditions can be considered through the medical facilities available within the prison system,” he said.

He added that prison medical wards could assess the health conditions of elderly prisoners and that provisions were already in place to take appropriate action based on recommendations from the relevant medical wards. The Government intended to further activate this mechanism to ensure that cases involving prisoners with serious health issues were considered under existing procedures.

According to the figures presented by Nanayakkara, prisons currently hold 10,611 convicted prisoners and 28,408 remand suspects, bringing the total number of people in custody to 39,019.

Of the convicted prisoners, 2,160 are aged between 20 and 30, while 3,423 are between 30 and 40. Another 2,860 are aged between 40 and 50, and 1,561 are between 50 and 60. There are 601 prisoners aged between 60 and 70, while 150 are between 70 and 80. A further 11 prisoners are aged over 80.