COLOMBO : The shooting of unarmed remandees at the Mahara Prison is a serious incident which warrants an impartial commission of inquiry, National People’s Party’s (NPP) Attorney-at-Law Lal Wijenayake, told a media briefing yesterday.
“The brutal killing of detainees who are supposed to be protected by the government sets a dangerous precedent,” he said. “We are reminded of the shootout which took place at the Welikada prison a few years ago, although 28 detainees were shot to death, there has been no impartial inquiry to-date.”
Wijenayake said the government is solely responsible for the welfare and protection of these individuals and hence the highest level of security should have been reserved for them. “The government has the responsibility to explain what happened to these detainees. All we see is the issuance of statements some of which are contradictory to information that has already been furnished.”
He referred to the Code of Criminal Procedure stating that the law has written down the actions that must precede an event of this nature. “According to the Article 371 immediate inquiry must be done, however it’s been over 5 days and there is yet to be a magisterial inquiry into the matter, neither have they done a post-mortem.”
He added that the relatives of the detainees have been prevented from seeking information and this has been highlighted in the international media citing the nation’s bleak human rights safeguards.
“We request the government to appoint an impartial commission of Supreme Court judges to look into the Mahara incident.” he said. NPP MP Dr.Harini Amarasuriya referred to a report by the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka where it raises many concerns on the condition of prisons as ‘deplorable’.
“Under such circumstances, it should come as no surprise that incidents like the killings at Mahara prison took place.The problems of basic necessities of inmates have not been resolved for years, and on top of that when COVID-19 plagues the prison, it leads to an escalation,” she said. “The relatives do know if their family members are among the death, injured or even infected. This is a grave injustice.”
