The Prisoners’ Rights Protection Committee says that due to the overcrowding in prisons, inmates have had to share their time to sleep at night.
The government audit report issued in 2023 also pointed out the problem of prison overcrowding, but no solutions have been found to the problem yet, said the committee’s executive director, lawyer Senaka Perera.
He further said that prison overcrowding continues to increase and that the condition of prisoners in the country is deplorable despite the existence of a global convention on the treatment of prisoners.
“Due to the lack of toilets, inmates have to queue to use the toilet. The authorities’ attention should be drawn to this issue urgently. Prisons are currently holding three times the number of inmates they can hold,” he said.