Sri Lanka President holds urgent prison talks after Negombo incident

Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has held extensive discussions with senior prison officials on urgent measures to address challenges in Sri Lanka’s prison system and prevent incidents similar to the recent unrest at Negombo Prison.

The meeting was held this afternoon (July 17) at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo, with the participation of Superintendents of Prisons, Jailers and other officers of the Department of Prisons.

The discussions focused on the main problems currently affecting the prison system and the immediate steps required to resolve them.

Special attention was given to the recent incident at Negombo Prison. The participants held lengthy discussions on measures that should be introduced to prevent similar incidents in the future.

The challenges faced by prison officers and matters relating to their welfare were also discussed.

Prison officials said this was the first opportunity they had received to raise their concerns directly with the President. They expressed their appreciation for being given the opportunity.

Minister of Justice and National Integration Harshana Nanayakkara, Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Anil Jayantha Fernando, Senior Additional Secretary to the President Roshan Gamage and Secretary to the Ministry of Justice and National Integration Ayesha Jinasena attended the meeting.

Commissioner General of Prisons Prasad Hemantha Kumara, Commissioner of Prisons for Rehabilitation S.K. Pallethanna, Commissioner of Prisons for Operations and Intelligence A.C. Gajanayake and several other officials of the Department of Prisons were also present.