• CPRP cites prisons’ objective of correction-rehab. as opposed to execution

The Committee for Protecting the Rights of Prisoners (CPRP) organisation said that the Justice Ministry should initiate an inquiry into the recent statement made by Prisons Commissioner (Industries) and Prisons Department Media Spokesperson Jagath Weerasinghe, in which he called for the implementation of the death penalty against large-scale drug traffickers.

Speaking to The Daily Morning, CPRP President, attorney Senaka Perera said that a Prisons Commissioner is not in a position to express personal opinions on such matters, as the mission of the Prisons Department is based on custody, care, and correction, not execution. “In that context, how can a Prisons Commissioner say that the death sentence should be implemented? What he says completely contradicts the department’s mission,” he said.

He added that all prisons officers are required to uphold the principles of rehabilitation and correction and that making such remarks appears to be an attempt to gain popularity. “Is executing prisoners the solution to prison congestion? This is not a solution at all. If he works in a prison with this mindset, how will prisoners be treated? The Ministry should initiate an inquiry into his statement.”

When contacted by The Daily Morning, Presidential Secretariat’s Director of Legal Affairs, attorney J.M. Wijebandara said that the Government does not intend to respond to every individual statement made by officials. “Various individuals make various statements. As the Government, we don’t want to respond to all such statements or say whether what they said is right or wrong.”

Justice Minister, attorney Harshana Nanayakkara was not available for comment.

Weerasinghe, addressing a public awareness event in Nawalapitiya recently, had stated that large-scale drug traffickers should be sentenced to death, claiming that such individuals are destroying an entire nation. He noted that Sri Lanka has 36 prisons with a maximum capacity of 10,500 inmates, but that nearly 36,000 prisoners are currently being held – around 65% of whom are incarcerated for drug-related offences. He also revealed that 42 children under the age of five are living in prisons with their mothers, while 805 men and 21 women currently face death sentences.