The Committee for the Protection of Prisoners observes not only the Welikada prison massacre, but looking at history, prisoners have been killed in Sri Lanka prisons on many occasions, but those involved in them and those responsible have a tendency to be freed from those crimes.

The Committee for the Protection of Prisoners’ Rights has issued a press release regarding the acquittal and release by the Supreme Court of the ex-prison deputy commissioner Emil Ranjan Lamahewa, who was accused of brutally killing 27 prisoners in Welikada prison and was sentenced to death by the high court. 

The committee is of the opinion that the decision given by the Supreme Court on 8 August acquitting Emil Ranjan Lamahewa is a decisive break in relation to extrajudicial killings and custodial or custodial killings.

27 prisoners died in the Welikada prison massacre that took place in November 2012. At the time of the incident the deputy commissioner of prisons was Emil Ranjan Lamahewa. The three-member bench of the Colombo High Court sentenced him to death in January 2022.

Our committee has been fighting for a long time to achieve justice for the Welikada prisoners massacre, which attracted national and international attention. However, the Prisoner’s Rights Protection Committee respects the decision given by the Supreme Court but how did this massacre happen on the 9th and 10th of November 2012 with the intervention of the government security forces in the Welikada prison? The press release questions that the issue has unfolded again before the public by this Supreme Court decision.

We accept the right of appeal to a convicted person before a court and we have also emphasized the need for a mechanism to do justice for the deceased.

The press release further insists that the creation of an environment that encourages the law enforcement to kill and torture people who are in custody including prison staff, cannot be prevented.