Sri Lanka’s prisons are operating at three to four times their intended capacity, with some inmates facing inhumane and degrading conditions, Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) President Rajeev Amarasuriya has warned.
In a statement following a visit to the New Magazine Prison in Welikada on Sunday (October 25), Amarasuriya called for urgent reforms to address overcrowding, improve prison conditions and ensure access to legal assistance for detainees.
He visited the prison to participate in a legal aid camp organised by the BASL in collaboration with the Prison Monitoring Board (Whole Island).
Reflecting on his visit, Amarasuriya said prison conditions were particularly concerning for individuals held on remand who had not been convicted of any offence.
“This is particularly troubling in the case of those held on remand, who have merely been suspected or accused of an offence and continue to enjoy the presumption of innocence,” he said.
He observed that while prison might offer some degree of security to repeat offenders and individuals struggling to access basic necessities, conditions for many others were inhumane and degrading.
Amarasuriya welcomed the efforts of the Justice Ministry to address longstanding issues through legislative reforms, including proposed amendments to the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance and the House Confinement Bill.
He said such measures could help reduce unnecessary imprisonment and address severe overcrowding.
However, he stressed that legislative reforms alone would not be sufficient.
“The forthcoming National Budget must also give greater priority to prison infrastructure, including the construction of additional prisons, improvements to existing facilities, better sanitation, healthcare and living conditions, and adequate provision for rehabilitation,” he said.
The BASL President also highlighted the importance of providing legal assistance to individuals who cannot afford lawyers, particularly when their personal liberty is at stake.
He said the BASL had launched its legal aid initiative following a request from the Prison Monitoring Board and expressed hope that the programme could be expanded.
Amarasuriya also acknowledged the challenging working conditions faced by prison officers, noting that they spend much of their daily lives within the same prison walls as inmates.
Concluding his observations, he emphasised that imprisonment should never result in the loss of human dignity.
“Ultimately, while imprisonment may involve the deprivation of liberty, it must never amount to the deprivation of human dignity,” he said.
“A society’s commitment to justice is reflected not only in how it treats the law-abiding, but also in how it treats those behind prison walls.” (Newswire)
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