COLOMBO : Sri Lankan Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala said one inmate was killed and 10 others injured during disturbances at Colombo’s Magazine Prison, while two prisoners died and 14 were injured in a separate clash at Kuruwita Prison, around 80 kilometres from the capital. Police and special forces were deployed to bring both situations under control.
Authorities also used tear gas to contain unrest at the Pallansena Correctional Center near Negombo, with no casualties reported there.
Wijepala said preliminary information suggested that the incidents may have involved prior planning and attempts to deliberately create disorder. A comprehensive investigation has been launched to establish the circumstances surrounding the violence.
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The latest clashes have once again drawn attention to severe overcrowding in Sri Lanka’s prisons. The country’s correctional facilities currently hold more than 40,000 inmates despite having capacity for only around 10,000 to 11,000, with delayed court proceedings and drug-related detentions contributing significantly to the pressure on the system.
The government is considering judicial and legal reforms aimed at clearing the backlog of cases and reducing the number of people being held in overcrowded prisons.
The latest incidents come just weeks after deadly violence at a prison in Negombo in July left dozens dead and more than 100 injured.
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