The Negombo Magistrate’s Court has ordered that evidence given by the officer who was serving as Chief Jailer of Negombo Prison at the time of the fatal clash there be withheld from publication, ruling that it contains information of a highly sensitive national security nature.
Wickrama Jayantha Kumara, the Chief Jailer at the time of the incident in which 10 prison officers and 22 inmates were killed, testified before Negombo Magistrate Shilani Perera on Thursday (July 30). His evidence was recorded from around 1.00 p.m. until approximately 3.00 p.m.
After the testimony was recorded, the Magistrate stated that its contents related to national security and that disclosure could pose a serious threat to the country. The court ordered that the evidence not be published by any media organisation and directed that it be kept under secure custody.
Two further reports were submitted to the court during the proceedings. One concerned 89 prison and police officers who had been deployed to Negombo Prison from Welikada Prison, NewsFirst reported. Ada Derana described the same group as prison police officers who arrived at Negombo from Welikada.
Prison officials also presented the court with a report on individuals still receiving treatment at the Colombo National Hospital and Negombo Hospital following the clash.
Both outlets put the death toll at 10 prison officers and 22 inmates. That is higher than the figures reported at earlier stages of the inquiry: authorities initially said 28 people had died — eight officers and 20 inmates — and the confirmed toll was later revised to 31.
The deaths remain the subject of an ongoing judicial investigation before the same court. Four inmates were named as suspects and remanded until August 7 earlier this week, when the Criminal Investigation Department told court that statements had been recorded from 1,395 people and that 301 Special Task Force firearms and 70 prison officers’ firearms were present at the facility on the day of the clash. Autopsy findings presented in July showed that of the 28 deaths examined at that point, 17 were caused by gunshot injuries and 11 by assaults with blunt weapons.
