Prison clash in Sri Lanka shows signs of organised sabotage: Justice Minister
COLOMBO: The recent unrest at a prison in Sri Lanka appeared to have been an act of sabotage, Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara said on Tuesday, noting that external parties may have played a role in instigating the violence.
Making a statement in Parliament, Nanayakkara said the incident at the Mahara Prison went beyond a typical inmate clash, noting that prisoners deliberately set fire to the kitchen, cafeteria, infirmary, and offices, including the main jailor’s officeIn early July, a similar clash erupted inside the Negombo prison in the northwestern coastal town, which killed 33 people, including inmates and prison officials.
The unrest in the Mahara Prison began on August 1 when three inmates staged a protest on the prison roof. After 15 minutes of failed negotiations, around 1,000 other inmates joined them, escalating the situation into a full-scale riot. Prisoners pelted stones at the main entrance, forcing officials to deploy rubber bullets and tear gas.
“We are now watching closely if this could be a wave of prison riots, we have received information that two or three other prisons could also sesimilar clashes,” Nanayakkara, who survived a parliamentary no-trust motion on the Negombo prison riot that called for his resignation, said.
He said the clash at the Mahara is being probed to determine if it was instigated from outside.What is not clear is what caused it. We can understand if a few prisoners got onto roof, but here it was thousands suddenly.”
“This shows they had a clear intention. This has never happened before. It is evident that there was an organised attempt to sabotage the administration of the Mahara Prison,” he stated.
Inmates from both prisons were relocated elsewhere.
Minister Nanayakkara contrasted the Mahara incident with the recent Negombo Prison riot, stressing that while Negombo involved clashes between inmates, Mahara was
The current information indicates that the clashes were primarily between inmates and the prison administration.