Plight of prisoners

The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL),  recently issued a report containing its findings and recommendations concerning the violent incidents that occurred at Negombo Prison on 5 and 6 July 2026, which resulted in the deaths of 10 Prison Emergency Response Tactical Force officers and 22 inmates and injured scores of others.

HRCSL said in the report that senior Prisons Department management made flawed operational decisions on 6 July, 

by sending unarmed Emergency Response Tactical Force officers and Government assessment staff into highly volatile ward sectors at the Negombo Prison, without a prior risk evaluation or tactical protection which directly contributed to the deaths of 10 officers.

The HRCSL also found that the authorities failed to recognise, isolate and contain the factional disputes that began in wards two and four on the afternoon of 5 July, allowing the situation to become a full-scale mutiny overnight. It also said that no prompt legal or disciplinary action was taken against inmate ringleaders, creating an environment of impunity that encouraged further escalation.

Prison officers have fired Type-56 rifles to prevent inmates from breaching the main gate. The authorities maintained that this was done under Section 77 of the Prisons Ordinance, while several inmates alleged direct shooting.

This is the only official report on the Negombo prison unrest made public so far. It clearly outlines how a tragedy that could have been averted took place due to lapses on the part of the authorities concerned.

A committee of inquiry appointed by the President to look into the incident handed over its report in August, but its contents have not been made public so far. Justice and National Integration Minister Harshana Nanayakkara confirmed the report was handed over, but as to why it’s not in the public domain is anyone’s guess.

Despite inquiries and reports, the conditions in Sri Lanka’s prisons are far from perfect. Just this week, an inmate of the Pallekele Dumbara Prison was shot dead by a prison officer after allegedly attempting to escape from the facility. There is an inquiry into the incident too, but it’s likely it will be hushed up and the family of the dead man left with no answers.

After the Negambo incident, there were credible reports of torture of prisoners by prison officials. It is not the first time such cases have been reported with the plight of prisoners often neglected with society largely treating them as outcasts.

The Government is on a roll with its anti-drug drive and hundreds have been arrested and incarcerated leading to a worsening problem of overcrowding in prisons. Many who should be in rehabilitation are in prison as well and while some laws have been amended to allow easier bail for drug related offenders, the problem remains acute.

The HRCSL in its report on the Negombo incidents recommended to the Prisons Commissioner General and the Justice Ministry that the 2018-2020 National Prison Study be implemented in full, in line with the Nelson Mandela Rules,  and the appointment of a joint committee to prepare a road-map for reducing overcrowding, accelerating bail hearings, expanding non-custodial sentencing, and ending informal inmate governance. These recommendations must be implemented swiftly.

The Government has to address the prison situation without delay so that the words ‘prisoners are human too’ doesn’t just remain a slogan, while in reality they are treated inhumanely.