Inmates employed to attack protests? Prisons Dept. launches inquiry

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka Prisons has launched an investigation on the allegations raised claiming that a group of inmates from the Watareka Open Prison Camp were used to attack protestors in Colombo recently, said the Commissioner General of Prisons Thushara Upuldeniya.

Footage posted on social media following the attack on peaceful protests showed locals detaining a group of men who later claimed that they were prisoners from the Watareka Open Prison Camp.

It was observed that the pants worn by the group of detained men were identical to those worn by people who were among the group that attacked peaceful protests on on Monday (9) in Colombo.

The Commissioner General of Prisons said that the men were not wearing prison fatigues, but were wearing a uniform provided to them by the institutions that employed their services.

The Commissioner General of Prisons, and another officer will be present at the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka on Thursday (12) for an inquiry over the matter.