Informant attack behind Negombo Prison violence: Minister

Preliminary investigations have indicated that the deadly violence at Negombo Prison may have been triggered by an attack on inmates suspected of providing information to prison authorities to prevent the smuggling of drugs and other contraband into the facility, Minister of Justice and National Integration Harshana Nanayakkara told Parliament today (7).

Making a ministerial statement on the July 5-6 prison unrest, the Minister stressed that investigations were continuing and that no final conclusions had yet been reached. However, initial findings suggested that the violence stemmed from a clash between two rival inmate groups linked to the illicit drug trade.

Nanayakkara said prison authorities believed one possible motive for the attack was that certain inmates had provided intelligence to officials to thwart attempts to smuggle narcotics and other prohibited items into the prison. Such inmates were often targeted by organised criminal networks, he said.

The Minister emphasised that these were preliminary findings based on information currently available and that definitive conclusions would depend on ongoing investigations and the report of the committee appointed to probe the incident.

The first clash erupted on July 5 between two groups of inmates, leaving two prisoners dead and 35 others injured. Although order was restored later that evening, violence broke out again the following morning as inmates were being prepared for court appearances after breakfast.

According to the Minister, a small-organised group deliberately destroyed CCTV cameras and a body scanner during the unrest, apparently in an attempt to disable security measures used to prevent the entry of narcotics and other contraband. He said many inmates had not participated in the violence and that a number of innocent prisoners were among the injured.

Nanayakkara said unarmed prison officers who intervened to contain the violence came under attack, with several officers losing their lives while attempting to protect colleagues. Two officers were initially assaulted, prompting others to rush to their assistance. Most of the officers who died were attacked with bricks and iron poles, he said.

The rioting inmates had managed to obtain weapons and breach an iron gate before emerging from the prison compound, the Minister said, warning that any successful escape could have posed a serious threat to public safety.

Investigations were under way to determine how the inmates obtained the weapons, including whether they had broken into the prison armoury or seized them from prison officers during the disturbance.

Nanayakkara said postmortem examinations were being conducted to establish whether the deaths had resulted from gunshot injuries or assaults by fellow inmates.

A total of 734 inmates involved in the unrest had been transferred to other prisons, he said. As of this morning, seven prison officers and 19 inmates had died, while 23 prison officers and 54 inmates were receiving treatment in hospitals for injuries sustained during the violence.

The Criminal Investigation Department has launched a separate investigation in addition to the internal inquiry being conducted by the Department of Prisons. The Minister said the Government had at no stage underestimated the gravity of the incident and was making every effort to establish the full circumstances surrounding the violence.