COI Report March 2012 - UK Border Agency - Home Office

7 MARCH 2012 SRI LANKA
received visits from family members thanks to the ICRC‘s reimbursement of their
transport costs.‖
11.13 On 23 June 2011, the Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka) 221 reported that the 2010 Performance
Report of the Department of Prisons had recorded that 251 detainees had escaped from
various prisons during that year, including 43 from the Welikada prison, three from the
Colombo Remand Prison, seven from the Magazine Prison, seven from Negombo, and
two from Boosa. In 2010 15,839 prisoners were granted an amnesty.
11.14 On 24 January 2011 BBC News 222 reported that:
―Inmates of a jail in north-central Sri Lanka have accused the prison authorities of
shooting dead protesting prisoners.
―An inmate at Anuradhapura prison who wished to remain anonymous told the BBC
Sinhala service that he saw at least four dead bodies.
―Hospital authorities say one person was killed and 24 people who were injured were
admitted to hospital.
―Dr WMTD Wijekoon, director of Anuradhapura hospital, told the BBC that eight prison
officers are among those injured.
―A group of nearly 50 inmates have been staging a fast on the roof of the prison since
Sunday accusing the prison authorities of ill-treating the inmates.‖
11.15 A year later, on 24 January 2012, BBC News 223 reported that:
―At least 31 people have been injured in clashes between guards and rioting inmates at
a prison in the Sri Lankan capital, hospital officials say.
―Most of the injured are prisoners who were shot by guards. Police deny claims that
three inmates were killed.
―Several buildings were set alight in the remand wing of Colombo's main prison
[Welikada (Magazine) prison] before order was restored.
―Prisoners say they want better food and conditions. Police said inmates were angry at
moves to curb drug smuggling.
―The head of Sri Lanka's prisons department admitted that the treatment of prisoners in
the jail fell short of acceptable standards.
―A local resident told the Associated Press news agency that disturbances had been
going on for several days.|
221 Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka), 251 detainees have escaped from various prisons in the country, 23 June
2011 http://print.dailymirror.lk/news/news/47888.html date accessed 24 January 2012
222 BBC News, 'Inmates killed' in Sri Lanka prison shooting, 24 January 2011
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12268829 date accessed 19 May 2011
223 BBC News, Sri Lanka jail riot 'injures 31' in Colombo, 24 January 2012
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12268829 date accessed 24 January 2012
The main text of this COI Report contains the most up to date publicly available information as at 3 February 2012.
Further brief information on recent events and reports has been provided in the Latest News section
to 2 March 2012.
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