A joint mechanism bringing together prison officials, the police, the Special Task Force and the Tri-Forces is to be established to safeguard inmates across all 33 prisons in Sri Lanka.
The decision was taken at a special discussion chaired by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Friday afternoon, called to review conditions in the prison system and the steps needed to protect inmates after two days of disturbances at several facilities.
Officials at the meeting reviewed the situation in each prison and discussed measures to improve prison management, according to the Daily Mirror and Hiru News.
What the mechanism is meant to do
The body will identify and address problems faced by inmates, monitor their welfare, and set out how authorities should respond during emergencies. It is also to engage directly with inmates so their concerns can be understood and dealt with, rather than relying solely on reports through the prison administration.
The Daily Mirror reported that the mechanism will be established next week.
The meeting the government had promised
Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala had told Parliament earlier on Friday that the President would meet prison stakeholders that evening and that urgent measures would follow. Wijepala also said intelligence reports had raised suspicions that the disturbances may be organised and coordinated, and that the Cabinet had already appointed a committee chaired by the Justice Minister to examine prison conditions.
Three inmates died and more than 50 people were injured in incidents at the New Magazine Prison in Colombo, Kuruwita Prison in Ratnapura and the Pallansena camp in Negombo over roughly 36 hours. Authorities said on Friday evening that the situation at Kuruwita and Pallansena had been brought under control.
Separately, Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara said the same day that the law would be amended to let certain drug suspects seek bail from the High Court, addressing one of the grievances raised by inmates.
Sources: Daily Mirror, Hiru News.
