Prisons Media Spokesman Jagath Weerasinghe says Sri Lanka’s prisons currently exceed capacity by 20,000.
Addressing the media today, Jagath Weerasinghe said that the maximum number of prisoners that could be placed in the 36 prisons of Sri Lanka is 12,000.
He said, however, that at present, there were around 33,000 inmates placed in these prisons across the country.
“Among them, 65% are in remand custody for drug-related offences. We must minimize imprisonment to prevent a major crisis,” the Prisons Media Spokesman said.
Inquired about the use of mobile phones by inmates, Jagath Weerasinghe explained that most prisons are located in highly populated areas with access to the public.
“Some people throw mobile phones over the prison walls. This has been reported at the Colombo Magazine Prison. Our officers are doing their best to address these situations,” he said.
The Prisons Media Spokesman further said that the situation has been contained largely with regular search operations being conducted.
When inquired about imprisoned politicians being placed at the Prison Hospital, instead of prison cells, he said the decision is taken on the recommendations of doctors who have examined the said politicians.
“Recently, there has been a reduction in such recommendations. All politicians recently imprisoned remain in prison cells,” he revealed. (Newswire)
