• Claims Govt responsible for institutional inefficiency 
• Prisoners rights group blames ‘highhandedness’ of Prisons Dept 
• Justice Minister ‘shocked and saddened’ 

Leader of the Opposition, Sajith Premadasa, called yesterday (6) for an independent and transparent investigation into the deadly violence that erupted at the Negombo Prison, saying the Government must be held accountable for the loss of life. 

Speaking to reporters, Premadasa said the deaths and injuries resulting from the unrest pointed to a breakdown in the Prison administration and institutional inefficiency. He said the current administration should take responsibility for the incident, noting that the President had previously maintained, while in the Opposition, that governments should be held accountable for deaths occurring inside prisons. 

Premadasa also said the Government had come to power promising systemic change, but argued that the incident at the Prison highlighted the continued failure of the existing system. He questioned the Government's ability to maintain law and order and ensure effective Prison administration.

Premadasa further said the inability to uphold a humane Prison management system is a matter of serious concern and urged the Government to explain the circumstances surrounding the incident, noting that the public is closely monitoring the developments.

Meanwhile, the Committee for Protecting the Rights of Prisoners (CPRP) claimed the violence at the prison escalated because of the arrogant response of the Prisons Department, particularly its failure to provide timely information to inmates' families and allow prisoners to communicate with their relatives following the tensions on 5 July. 

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (6), CPRP’s President, Senaka Perera said the situation could have been brought under control earlier if the authorities had acted appropriately. 

"This situation could have been controlled, but they failed to do so. The relatives of inmates were waiting for the Department to provide some information about their family members on 5 July, but that never happened. The inmates themselves expected to be given an opportunity to speak to their relatives, but they were not given that opportunity either," he said. 

Perera alleged that the Department's handling of the situation only aggravated tensions. "The Department acted in a very arrogant manner. A group of Police officers who suited that approach also arrived at the scene. Instead of listening to the concerns of the inmates' relatives, they tried to drive them away. It was like pouring fuel on a fire. The Prisons Department and the Government must take responsibility for what happened," he said. Referring to the situation on 5 July, Perera said tensions had eased to some extent by the time CPRP representatives visited the Prison, but claimed security personnel and Prison officials behaved as though the CPRP had contributed to the unrest. 

"When we went there, the security forces and Prison officials behaved as if we had created the situation," he alleged. He also claimed that the families of inmates were subjected to unnecessary hardship while trying to obtain information about their relatives. "When the relatives asked about the inmates, the Department told them to go to the Hospital. When they went to the Hospital, they were told to bring a letter from the Prison. Families were sent from one place to another and put through unnecessary difficulties," he said. He further alleged the Government had still failed to properly recognise the seriousness of the crisis, dismissing the appointment of investigative committees as ineffective. "Appointing committees is a joke. Committees have been appointed since 2012. These appointments only waste public money."  

Attempts to contact the Justice Minister, attorney Harshana Nanayakkara, the Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala, and Prisons Spokesperson A C Gajanayake proved futile.

His remarks came after 25 individuals, including Prison officers and inmates, had been killed in violence at the Prison yesterday. Police stated that the dead included Prison officers while nearly 100 people were reportedly injured. The unrest followed a clash between two groups of inmates on 5 July, in which two prisoners were killed and 38 others were injured. 

However, Nanayakkara expressed shock and sadness over the violent clash at the Prison, which resulted in the deaths of 25 individuals. Speaking on the incident, he said the unrest had occurred within an institution under his purview and that he therefore had to take responsibility for the situation. He said the situation at the Prison had now been brought under control, adding that the loss of any life was unacceptable and that measures must be taken to prevent similar incidents in the future. 

“There is deep shock over the loss of human lives. I extend my condolences to the families of those who died. We will visit the site, assess what has happened, and ensure that such incidents do not recur. This is not about blaming anyone,” he said.

Nanayakkara also said that closed circuit television camera systems and a body scanner at the Prison were completely destroyed during the unrest.

Nanayakkara said that disrupting Prison operations appeared to be the primary objective of the inmates involved in the violent clash at the Prison.

He said that a group of inmates identified as being at the centre of the violence had been transferred to the Agunukolapelessa and Welikada Prisons.