Court orders postmortem on prisoners killed in Mahara Prison Riot

The Magistrate ordered for the bodies which are currently placed at the Ragama Teaching Hospital to be moved to IDH, in accordance with the health guidelines and under police protection, for the postmortem examination to be performed.

State Counsel Nishara Jayaratne, appearing for the Attorney General requested the court to permit the cremation of the bodies of the prisoners following the postmortem examination considering the fact that 08 of the 11 deceased prisoners were exposed to COVID-19.

The Wattala Magistrate noted as the bodies are subject to a criminal investigation, it is not wise to deliver an order in that regard until the report of the committee of experts is received.

State Counsel Nishara Jayaratne pointed out to the court, the Criminal Investigations Department has already launched an investigation in order to uncover if the riots and the deaths had taken place based on the intervention of a certain faction and if the prison officers on duty on that day had acted beyond self-defense.

Further, the Wattala Magistrate's Court ordered the Government Valuation Department to compile a report on the estimated damages caused to the Mahara Prison during the riots and report to the court.

The case was postponed to the 16th of December 2020.