Sri Lanka boosts prison security after riot kills one
Authorities said 4,100 inmates were held at the prison, about four times its capacity, as security was tightened across the jail system.
- On Saturday, a riot at Mahara Prison left one inmate dead and six injured, prompting Sri Lanka to deploy troops and Special Task Force commandos to secure the facility's perimeter.
- The facility housed about 4,100 inmates, roughly four times its capacity, reflecting a systemic crisis where the country's prison network holds over 41,000 convicted inmates in 22 facilities with a combined capacity of about 11,000.
- This unrest follows a July riot at a Negombo prison killing 10 guards and 21 inmates, intensifying scrutiny after similar deadly outbreaks in November and December 2020 that killed 11 inmates and wounded 117.
- Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police Sajeewa Medawatta confirmed the situation was under control by Sunday, after authorities imposed a temporary curfew on Saturday night in three surrounding villages to maintain peace.
- Authorities announced plans to convert disused state buildings into prisons following the Negombo violence, though these additional facilities have yet to be commissioned as Sri Lanka struggles to manage its overcrowded jail network.
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The prisons in Sri Lanka are overcrowded, causing unrest and, lastly, riots. This time, prisoners destroy several buildings of the Mahara Detention Centre. A person dies.
"We have received reinforcements from the army and special forces to restore order and return the detainees to their cells," said Deputy Inspector General Sanjeewa Medawatte, a police inspector in Mahara prison. "The situation is under control on Sunday. Detainees have destroyed several buildings in this prison located at the gates of the capital Colombo, where a mutiny in November 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic, resulted in 11 deaths and…
Hundreds of soldiers in action. It's already the second prison uprising within a month.
Radio France Internationale
Sri Lanka deploys troops after prison riot
Deputy police inspector-general Sanjeewa Medawatte said the situation was under control after inmates destroyed multiple buildings on Saturday inside Mahara Prison, just outside the capital Colombo. "We got reinforcements from the armed forces and the Special Task Force commandos to restore order and send the inmates back to their cells," Medawatte told reporters outside the prison. In November 2020, a riot erupted at the facility in which 11 in…
The facility is home to 4,100 inmates, four times its capacity, a frequent overoccupation in prisons on the island, where a riot already killed 31 people in early July.
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