‘Give our son back to us’

By Azra Ameen-Date:2012-07-08

Riots and violence inside prisons are not novel occurrences in Sri Lanka. It was only in January this year that a group of inmates at the Welikada Prison rioted, and in the events that ensued, 26 inmates and several prison guards were injured. This raised a number of questions about the state of Sri Lanka’s prison system.

However, the chaos that prevailed in the Vavuniya Prison last week was not just riot where a group of inmates tried to take control of the guards to demand their rights. It brought a life to an end.

Ganesh Nimalaruban, one of the Tamil political prisoners, who was allegedly attacked during a rescue drama in Vavuniya Prison last week, died on Wednesday (4). He was transferred to the Mahara Prison after being injured in the Vavuniya Prison, and had died on Wednesday morning, while receiving treatment at the Ragama Hospital.

More than 15 detainees had sustained severe injuries, and among them three were in a critical condition, and Nimalaruban was one of them.

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