▲ The Negombo prison in Sri Lanka, where riots broke out last month. (Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
Following prison riots that left over 20 dead last month in the South Asian island nation of Sri Lanka, two more prison riots have erupted, resulting in 3 inmate deaths and over 20 injuries.
According to Reuters and AP, the Sri Lankan Ministry of Public Safety stated that on the previous day (local time), about 40 inmates at the New Magazine Prison in the capital city of Colombo broke out of their cells and clashed, leaving 1 inmate dead and 10 injured.
Another riot subsequently broke out at the Kuruwita Prison in the south, located about 80 kilometers east of Colombo, killing 2 inmates and injuring a dozen more.
Authorities deployed heavy forces, including police and special operations units, to the scenes to quell the unrest.
Authorities believe that the riots are linked to rivalry between drug traffickers and criminal syndicates.
Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala said during a parliamentary report the previous day, "We are currently in control of the situation, and there are no security concerns." He added, "When all these incidents are put together, it appears there was pre-planning and an attempted sabotage behind them."
He also noted, "However, further details can only be provided after a comprehensive investigation is conducted."
Earlier in the beginning of last month, a violent clash among inmates broke out at a prison in the coastal city of Negombo, 35 kilometers north of Colombo, killing at least 26 people, including 7 prison guards.
Observers suggest that these successive prison riots in Sri Lanka are closely tied to structural problems such as severe overcrowding.
According to the Sri Lankan Ministry of Justice, around 39,000 inmates are currently crammed into prisons nationwide that have a total capacity of about 10,000.
More than three-quarters of these inmates are awaiting trial, and many are reportedly facing drug-related charges.
Senaka Perera, head of the human rights group Committee for Protecting Rights of Prisoners, told AP that a recent legal revision tightening bail requirements has led to prison overcrowding, explaining that poor living conditions in prisons serve as a trigger for riots.
Accordingly, he emphasized the need to classify drug addicts as patients requiring medical treatment and to establish separate rehabilitation facilities.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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