Massive brawl at Sri Lanka prison leaves at least 26 dead, 77 hospitalized

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The death toll in Sri Lanka’s prison clash rose Tuesday to 26 — seven prison officials and 19 inmates — with authorities alleging the skirmish was linked to narcotic drugs and gang rivalries but prison welfare groups saying overcrowding and poor conditions had much to do with it, too.

The unrest at the prison in Negombo, about 35 kilometers (22 miles) north of the capital, Colombo, started between inmates on Sunday and turned violent on Monday after the inmates attacked the guards who intervened. Officials said the inmates even tried to break through the main gate, but were stopped.

A further 77 people — 23 prison officials and 54 inmates — are still being treated in hospitals.

On Tuesday, Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara told parliament that they believe the clash is linked to narcotic drugs and gang rivalries.

He said the clash erupted between two rival gangs connected to the illegal drug trade, and the initial assault was launched on the inmates who acted as informants to the authorities, and, thereafter, prison guards came under attack.

“Majority of the prison officials have died due to beatings by inmates. They (prison guards) have come under a merciless attack … even by bricks and clubs,” said the minister, adding that at that point, prison guards fired their weapons in order to control the situation and also for their own safety.

The minister did not specify the cause of the deaths and the nature of the injuries.

He said some firearms fell into the hands of the inmates, who used them to shoot at the guards. “We will investigate as to how they got the weapons — whether they got it from the armory or grabbed from the guards.”

He said during the clashes, a small group of organized inmates also destroyed the CCTV cameras, as well as a body scanner, in a move seen as an effort to disrupt the mechanism that blocks narcotics and other contraband from coming inside the prison.

Nanayakkara said some 734 inmates who were involved in the violence were transferred to other prisons.

He said a committee led by a retired judge is being set up, in addition to the police probe and an internal investigation by the prison department.

The investigations will look into what led to the clashes, “whether there were any security lapses or the congestion in the prisons caused this, and our responsibility is to prevent such incidents from happening again.”

On Tuesday, local television channel Hiru showed hundreds of relatives gathered outside the prison and hospital, seeking information about their loved ones. The relatives were crying and pleading for information.

Security around the prison has been heightened with additional army troops and armed tanks also being deployed.

Sri Lankan prisons are highly congested, with more than 39,000 inmates crowded into a system with a total capacity of just 10,000.

Senaka Perera, President of the Committee for Rights of Prisoners, said overcrowded prison facilities and a lack of inmate welfare have kept prisoners in constant agitation, and any issue can trigger a massive reaction.

The Negombo prison had a capacity of 650, but there were 2,600 prisoners at the time the clashes broke out, he said.

“There are drug-related disputes inside the prisons, but the government is trying to portray it as the only cause for the violence, using the public sentiment against narcotics,” he said, adding that inmates have been complaining of increasing numbers of prisoners with dengue fever, with minimal care being given to them.

Also, the government not being transparent with what happened and a lack of information to the relatives have also caused disturbances, he said.