Justice minister should resign immediately taking responsibility for Mahara Prison crisis, says Free Lawyers

Free Lawyers issued a special media release strongly condemning Minister of Justice Harshana Nanayakkara and Secretary to the Ministry of Justice Ayesha Jinasena over failure to control and prevent the unrest situation at the Mahara Prison.

Quoting information released by the Committee for Protecting Rights of Prisoners (CPRP), the relevant release states that a death occurred inside the Mahara Prison, and it is reported that prison officers shot at people who attempted to help injured inmates.

Stating that the occurrence of such a fatal situation again within a month of the Negombo Prison clash that resulted in the death of nearly 30 people demonstrates the administrative breakdown existing in the prison system, the organisation also accused that accountability was evaded by defeating the no-confidence motion presented to parliament against the Minister of Justice through the government majority.

Likewise, while such an explosive situation exists inside prisons, the minister's action of hurriedly presenting a constitutional amendment to raising the retirement age of senior judges to the Cabinet of Ministers without prior consultation of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) or Judicial Services Association (JSA) also faced severe criticism from Free Lawyers.

Requesting an observation team from the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) to be immediately directed to the Mahara Prison under this situation, the organization emphasizes that the personal and political responsibility of the Negombo and Mahara incidents should be taken by the Minister of Justice.

Furthermore, the release states that Minister of Justice Harshana Nanayakkara, who failed to perform the duties of the post, should immediately resign from office, an independent and transparent investigation regarding the Mahara incident should be conducted, and the proposed constitutional amendment to raise the retirement age of judges should be immediately withdrawn until the Ministry of Justice corrects its priorities.