40,000 prisoners crammed into space sufficient for 10,500

• Majority of detainees are uneducated, and several are illiterate

By Hemantha de Silva   

Former Prisons Department Spokesman, Lion Jagath Chandana Weerasinghe, said heavy congestion prevails in prisons across the country, noting that 40,000 prisoners are being detained nationwide in facilities with a capacity of only 10,500. Addressing a seminar at Yatagala Mahavidyalaya in Uragasmanhandiya organised by the former Commissioner of Prisons and Leader of the District 306 of the International Lions Club Lion Weerasinghe said 65 per cent of the prisoners were Sinhala Buddhists and the majority of them have been involved in the contraband trade of drug trafficking or drug peddling.  

“Among the 40,000 prisoners and suspects, 66 children are included. In addition, 806 convicts sentenced to death, including 18 women, are held in condemned cells. About 2,000 women suspected of involvement in murder, robbery, and drug offences are on remand. The majority of detainees are uneducated, and several are illiterate. It is sad that the victims of this startling situation are young men and women. Even the son of a senior official in the Education Administrative Service is serving a jail term for a drug offence,” he said.

He further stated that children are at risk of falling prey to anti-social activities at the instigation of organised gangs. He urged parents to inculcate social values in their children during their formative years and lead them along the right path to make the country a better place to live.

Mahasangha including Ven. Galagama Sudira Thera, Chairman of Karandeniya Pradesniys Sabha, Saman Kumara Yatagala, Principal of Yatagala Maha Vidyalaya Thushara Karunaratne President of Uragasmanhandiya Lions Club Lion Dr. Hasitha Wijewardene, Commander of Ahungalle STF Camp A.R.T.A Amarasinghe, and the residents of the area were present at the occasion.