Three prisoners killed and at least 24 injured in Sri Lanka prison riots

Colombo, Sri Lanka. Three prisoners were killed and at least 24 others were injured in riots at two Sri Lankan prisons, while unrest at a third facility was brought under control, officials said on Friday.

Riots at two prisons

One prisoner was killed and 10 were injured in a riot that began late on Thursday at Colombo’s New Magazine Prison, Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala told parliament.

A separate riot at Kuruwita prison, about 80 kilometres from Colombo, left two prisoners dead and 14 injured, he said.

Police and special forces brought both disturbances under control, Wijepala said.

Unrest contained in Negombo

Unrest at an open prison in Negombo, about 40 kilometres from Colombo, was also contained after police fired tear gas at protesting inmates, police sources told Reuters.

Heavy police and riot squads were deployed at all three prisons. Prisoners who had climbed onto rooftops or moved into open areas were returned to their wards, the minister said.

“We have controlled the situation now. There are no concerns about security,” Wijepala told lawmakers. “When you take all these incidents together it appears that there is planning behind these and an attempt at sabotage. But we can only say anything further after a comprehensive investigation.”

Overcrowding across prison system

Sri Lanka’s prison network holds more than 41,000 inmates in 22 prisons built to accommodate about 11,000 people. More than three-quarters of inmates are remand prisoners awaiting trial, many facing narcotics-related charges.

Ten prison officials and 20 prisoners died during two days of fighting at a prison in Negombo in early July. One inmate died and several others were injured in a riot at a prison in Mahara last weekend.

Sri Lanka is planning to amend its constitution to extend the tenure of superior court judges by two years, as part of efforts to clear a backlog of more than 1 million court cases and reduce prisoner numbers.