A total of 49 suspects have reportedly died while in custody over the past five years from 2020 to 2025, according to Human Rights Commissioner Nimal Punchihewa.
Nimal Punchihewa said 30 of these deaths occurred during Police confrontations, adding that a total of 79 such deaths have been reported during this period, describing it as a serious issue.
Stating that some of these deaths are linked to severe torture during detention, the Human Rights Commissioner stated that misconduct by a few individuals has tarnished the reputation of entire institutions.
“Every citizen has the right to remain politically neutral. Fear of being harmed for reporting crimes discourages the public from sharing such information,” he warned.
Nimal Punchihewa criticized certain police records that label arrests as “suspicion-based” without sufficient legal justification, asserting that arrests should be backed by actual wrongdoing.
He made these remarks during a media briefing held in Colombo yesterday (02 July). (Newswire)
