Legal Reforms Needed to Address Prison Crisis: SJB

10-Aug-2026

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Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Parliamentarian Ajith P. Perera has stressed that the clashes occurring in prisons are a result of the Government’s lack of planning and urged it to introduce the necessary legal reforms instead of making baseless allegations against the Opposition.

He made these remarks while speaking at a media briefing held at the SJB office in Colombo on August 8, 2026.

He said:

“We completely reject the Government’s allegation that a group within the Opposition was behind the clashes that occurred in three prisons within a period of 24 hours recently. There is absolutely no reason for the Opposition to engage in such activities.

“The main reason for the delays in the courts, particularly in Magistrates’ Courts and High Courts, as well as the crisis in the prison system, is the problems created by the law amended in 2023. Although 99 per cent of persons involved in drug-related cases are reportedly willing to plead guilty, there are no legal provisions to facilitate this. As a result, around 22,000 people have been imprisoned. They have not been languishing in prison for a few months, but for nearly two years.

“Since the present Government came to power, the pardon process has not been properly implemented. Although the Bar Association of Sri Lanka has prepared the necessary legal amendments to resolve this issue, the Government has not yet presented them to Parliament. Even when a serious incident occurred at the Negombo Prison and a no-confidence motion was brought against the relevant ministry, the Government failed to introduce legislation to address the problem.

“If these legal reforms had been passed in Parliament, the overcrowding in prisons could have been reduced by between 50 and 60 per cent. What is the Government doing instead?

“Prisoners are being packed into prisons so tightly that they cannot even sleep, like chickens confined in a coop. The resulting mental stress and fear are contributing to such clashes. The ministers in the Government lack sufficient experience, an adequate understanding of the judicial system and practical plans to resolve these problems.

“The Government must stop blaming an ‘Opposition conspiracy’ for everything that happens in the country in an attempt to conceal its administrative failures and lack of experience.

“It must immediately take steps to introduce the necessary legal reforms to reduce overcrowding in prisons and resolve the problems faced by prisoners,” he said.