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Thursday, 3 December 2020 00:34 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Asiri Fernando
In an effort to reduce prison overcrowding, the Police headquarters yesterday directed all senior officers in charge of Police territorial divisions and crime units to expedite legal processes and file charges regarding drug abuse suspects by Monday to grant bail to low level offenders.
The move comes as the Government scrambles to address a long-standing issue of overcrowded prisons in the aftermath of the Mahara Prison unrest, which saw the custodial death of 11 inmates, with 107 inmates and prison officers injured.
According to Police Spokesman DIG Ajith Rohana, the directives to all senior officers comes following a request by Justice Minister Ali Sabry to Attorney General (AG) Dappula de Livera to expedite filing of plaints in Magistrates’ Courts regarding narcotic abuse suspects who are in remand custody. The directive will apply only for persons identified for drug abuses and will not be extended to drug traffickers or suspects arrested with significant quantities of narcotics, the Police said.
“Accordingly, the Attorney General had instructed the IGP to take action and to file plaints in respect to drug dependents under Section 78 of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance. So that they can get bail from the Magistrates’ Courts,” DIG Rohana said, adding that the IGP had issued a circular on the matter. The IGP’s directive from Police headquarters had been made via an online video conference with all Senior Superintendents of Police (SSP) and Assistance Superintendents of Police (ASP).
“Following the directive all plaits regarding suspect drug dependent’s will be filed before Magistrates’ Courts within three days, or by Monday and all the officers in charge of Police stations will be informed. The plaints which will be filed is to reduce prison overcrowding. This does not affect drug traffickers. We will not mitigate charges against drug traffickers and organised criminals. Our aim is to allow habitual drug abusers and dependents in remand custody to seek bail,” DIG Rohana added.
The problem of overcrowding of the prison system has been long debated with little progress. According to Prisons Commissioner General Thushara Upuldeniya, prisons in Sri Lanka are overcrowded by 173%, with the Colombo Welikada Remand Prison overcrowded by 300%.
Many are imprisoned due to their inability to pay fines or bail charges. The Department of Prisons is also understaffed with only 1,500 prison guards to manage all the prisons in the country, Upuldeniya stated, adding that due to overcrowding, inmates lack adequate space to sleep and basic hygiene facilities.
According to Prisons Spokesman Chandana Ekanayake, the Mahara Prison held 2,750 inmates of whom 1,600 were remand prisoners. The remand prisoners had staged a protest near the dining hall demanding they be PCR tested for COVID-19 when the situation escalated.
In March this year, then Justice and Land Reforms Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva acknowledged the overcrowding issue but said that the solution to the matter lay with the courts and the Judicial Services Commission.
The Sri Lanka College of Psychiatrist (SLCP), issuing a press release on Monday, rejected the allegation that use of prescription medication kept at the Mahara Prison’s medical ward by inmates, may have contributed the unrest.
“The drugs used in psychiatric practice in Sri Lanka are also used all over the world and these drugs are brought under the guidance of regulatory authorities. In Sri Lanka, psychiatrics has been using these drugs during the seven decades with great benefits to patients. None of these drugs are responsible for violent or aggressive behaviour and in fact many of these drugs promote calmness and cause mild drowsiness,” the SLCP said.
Three investigations; one by the Criminal Investigation Department, the Department of Prisons and another by a committee appointed by the Ministry of Justice have been launched to inquire into the Mahara Prison unrest.
