Detainees transferred from Negombo are being assaulted - two more dead at Welikada and Angunukolapelessa.

The Committee for Protecting Prisoners' Rights (CPPR) alleges that a group of inmates, who were transferred to other prisons following the recent conflict at Negombo Prison, were brutally assaulted by prison officials, and two of them have died. The committee directly states that these deaths are a planned act of revenge carried out by prison officials.

Mr. Sudesh Nandimal Silva, convener of the Committee for Protecting Prisoners' Rights, and its chairman, Attorney-at-Law Senaka Perera, have revealed facts about this on social media. They point out that as a response to the incident where seven prison officials died in the initial conflict at Negombo Prison, officials from various prisons across the island have launched a retaliatory operation targeting these inmates.

Meanwhile, the police have also confirmed that an inmate transferred from Negombo Prison to Angunukolapelessa Prison has died. Hospital sources state that the inmate was already dead when admitted to the Angunukolapelessa Regional Hospital around 10:30 PM yesterday, and the police say that a definite cause of death has not yet been revealed. Meanwhile, another inmate transferred to Welikada Prison has also died, and his body was taken to the prison hospital around 11:00 PM yesterday. The Committee for Protecting Prisoners' Rights also raises serious doubts that prison authorities are attempting to portray this death as a suicide.

Issuing a special media statement, the Committee for Protecting Prisoners' Rights emphasizes that there are continuous reports that inmates transferred from Negombo to other prisons are being subjected to severe physical torture. For this reason, the organization strongly urges prison authorities to immediately take steps to ensure the safety of all these inmates.