'Poor management' behind prison unrest, Namal calls for reform

Sri Lanka Pudujana Peramuna MP Namal Rajapaksa has criticised the government's handling of the prison system, attributing the latest unrest to poor management, negligence and a system in decline. He called for urgent reforms rather than a continued reliance on tightened security measures.

In a social media statement, Rajapaksa asked how many more lives would be lost before the prison system's underlying problems were addressed. He noted that this marked the second major disturbance within weeks, saying it could no longer be treated as an isolated incident but pointed instead to deeper, systemic failures.

He also faulted the government for leaving the position of Commissioner General of Prisons vacant despite the ongoing crisis, questioning the delay in filling such a critical role.

While conceding that extra security personnel might offer short-term control over unrest, Rajapaksa said this would do nothing to address the root causes. He identified overcrowding, poor facilities, inadequate healthcare and the absence of effective rehabilitation programmes as pressing concerns that demand immediate action.

"A prison sentence takes away a person's liberty, not their dignity," Rajapaksa said, calling on the government to abandon short-term fixes in favour of comprehensive reforms to correct what he called clear evidence of institutional breakdown within the prison system.