Protecting prisoners

Wednesday, 3 November 2021 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Last week, the long-term inmates at Welikada prison put an end to their month-long rooftop protest. This was part of a series of protests over the past few months where inmates had been demanding that their sentences be commuted, and the process of four-yearly rehabilitation evaluation be reinstated.

In the end, the prisoners had no choice but to end the protest with their demands unmet, as they were reportedly deprived of meals and water by prison officials for days on end.

On the face of it, it’s depressingly understandable why something such as a prisoner protest would be more or less ignored by the public at large. However, a closer look reveals a problem that speaks to the rot and the very centre of our society.

Many of these prisoners are imprisoned as a result of their poverty. According to the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, 20,420 of those imprisoned in 2019 – that’s 70% – were for the non-payment of fines. Yet they remain imprisoned for years on end, left with little recourse but to protest on rooftops to have their needs heard.

And if you take a moment to comprehend the current political climate, you begin to better understand the reasoning behind their most recent demands. In the context of convicted murderers Sunil Ratnayake and Duminda Silva receiving Presidential Pardons, is it any wonder that inmates begin to wonder why it is that they must serve a second longer for crimes far, far less grievous? Why is it that five years is deemed enough rehabilitation for no less a crime than murder? Indeed, Silva’s release provoked a hunger strike, one that lasted for two days, but all for nought.

It seems that the only time Sri Lanka comes close to that is when it releases prisoners every Independence Day and Vesak. The very fact that hundreds who are judged to be of no harm to society can be released at least twice a year is indicative of the fact that people can be easily rehabilitated as sent to prison.

But the fact remains, the corrupt and dehumanising regime of the current prison system is serving less a restorative function than a retributive one, while also underlining the dire need for a general overhaul of the conditions and culture that prevail in Sri Lankan jails.

It is typical of Government policies that they look for stop-gap solutions rather than taking a holistic view to solving prisoner unrest. If some misguided person believes that having inhumane prisons acts as a deterrent, they only need to look at prison records to see that 50% of all people released from jail return – most within a year.

The sad reality is that this is a vicious cycle, as these prisoners now will likely be further harassed and profiled by prison officials for their role in the protests. A fact made all the more horrifying by the fact that there will now be stronger efforts made to silence and subjugate dissenting voices, as there is no public concern about the plight of prisoners.

It should not need saying, but just because a person is convicted of a crime does not mean that everything they do thereafter is wrong or should be ignored. The Government will only act if the people hold them responsible for their actions.