Suspects under the Prevention of Terrorism Act are more likely to be tortured and that prison officials have come to the conclusion that the government is not complying with the law, then they would not deeply concern on the issue, Ambika Sathkunanathan, a former Commissioner of the Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission (SLHRC) says.
She points out that although prison officials should be responsible for suspects / inmates in prisons, but it is not happen in reality.
She emphasized that the detainees, especially those detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, are more likely to be tortured and that torture could be influence physically as well as mentally. The recent incident that took place in Eravur was an example for this, she said.
Torture has been a regular occurrence in this country for a long time, but Ms. Ambika believes that the situation has worsened during the Covid epidemic.
She also stated that due to the lack of facilities including water and toilets in prisons, the inmates are in a difficult situation and there are about 9000 inmates in the country at present.
She points out that, there is lot of torture in prisons. They have tortured for various reasons and even when they are in line to get food, they are subjected to various forms of persecution. She says there are many examples and even some people had to get hospitalized due to inhuman treatment.
Officials may think that the Human Rights Commission does not have the power, but as soon as a complaint is received, independent action should be taken and it would be beneficial for society, she said. She added that people arrested as terrorists suspects and also drug traffickers should be prevented from being subjected to such torture, especially in this Covid situation.
Nadeeka Daya Bandara / Shani