Agreement signed to digitalise facilities for prison inmates

Wednesday, 8 December 2021 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) of Sri Lanka yesterday announced that an agreement was signed between the Ministry of Justice, the Department of Prisons, and ICTA to digitalise facilities for prison inmates.

This initiative was introduced due to the safety and mental health concerns posed on the prison inmates by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the initiative seeks to mitigate the risk of spreading the virus due to overcrowding, risk of spreading the virus when transporting inmates to courthouses, and the risks of distributing and receiving the virus from inmates’ family members.

Under this project, ‘Virtual Court Producing’ and ‘Virtual Court Visitations’ will be introduced. ‘Virtual Court Producing’ allows inmates to be produced before the judge through an online video conferencing system via the online platform. In addition, ‘Virtual Visitations’ will be introduced considering offenders’ importance and fundamental right to maintain contact with their family, friends, and access to lawyers. This mechanism will relieve the current suspension of physical visits by family members.

ICTA will provide the technical assistance to implement the new system in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Prisons. The pilot phase will be implemented in four Western Province prisons and 10 courthouses.

The agreement was signed in the presence of Secretary to the Ministry of Justice K. Mayadunna, Information and Communication Technology Agency Chairman Oshada Senanayake, ICTA Chief Digital Officer Kanchana Thudugala, ICTA Director Line of Business Amila Kularatne, and the Commissioner-General of Prisons H.M.T.N. Upuldeniya.