Reuters quoted Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepalah as saying on Friday that one prisoner was killed and 10 others injured in riots late Thursday at New Magazine Prison in Colombo. Another riot at Korweta Prison, about 80 kilometers from the capital, resulted in the deaths of two prisoners and injuries to 14 others.
Wijpalah added that police and special forces had brought the disturbances under control at both prisons.
Police sources told Reuters that their forces also contained unrest at an open prison in Negombo, about 40 kilometers from Colombo, after firing tear gas at protesting prisoners. The minister said large numbers of police and riot control teams had been deployed to the three prisons, and inmates who had climbed onto rooftops or moved into open areas had been returned to their cells.
Sri Lanka’s prisons are severely overcrowded, with more than 41,000 inmates across 22 facilities, despite being designed to hold around 11,000.
More than three-quarters of the prisoners are awaiting trial, many on drug-related charges.
“We have the situation under control now, and there are no security concerns,” Wijepala told a group of lawmakers. “When you look at all these incidents together, it appears to be a planned act of sabotage. But we cannot say more until a thorough investigation is conducted.”
In early July, 10 prison officials and 20 inmates were killed during two days of clashes at a prison in the coastal town of Negombo. One prisoner was also killed and several others injured in a riot about a week ago at a prison in Mahara, a town about 14 kilometers from Colombo.
Sri Lanka plans to amend its constitution to allow for a two-year extension of the terms of senior judges as part of efforts to clear a backlog of more than one million cases and reduce the prison population.
