SRI LANKA: An Appeal for the Early Publication of the Inquiry Reports on the Welikada and Vavuniya Prison Riots

A prisoner  killed in November 2012
in Welikada Prison, Colombo

''The Friday Forum urges you to make public the findings of the Committee appointed by the Hon. Minister of Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms, to investigate the events that took place in the Welikada prison, Colombo, in November 2012 resulting, in the death of some 27 inmates, with 43 injured and 11 reported to have escaped ''

Eye-witnesses say 11 Prisoners were Taken out of Cells and Summarily Executed by Police Special Task Force at Welikada

Welikada killings - Cold blooded murder

Jayantha Sri Nissanka
More and more incriminating evidence of summary executions of inmates in the Welikada Prison by the Police Special Task Force (STF) and a special police unit (SPU) that took place after the army commandos took full control of the prison on the night of November 9 have now been revealed, despite an officially sanctioned cover up of the massacre.

Welikada Prison: Justice Denied ?

The mother of Wijaya Rohana alias ‘Gundu’ believes the death of her son in Welikada prison recently was not accidental. M. Siriyawathi says that her son called her from a mobile telephone at around 8 p.m. and told her about what was going on inside Colombo’s prison complex. ‘Gundu’ had told her that there were many shootings going on but asked her not to worry. Siriyawathi said, “I advised my son to stay in his cell and close the door and not go out where the trouble was”. Later the following day she received a message that the caller was not sure but almost certain that ‘Gundu’ was in the mortuary.

Prisoners urge international probe;Eye witness relates: Welikada prisoners were massacred

‘we fear for our lives’ they say
Several prison inmates who witnessed the Welikada Prison riots are urging for an impartial international probe, and are prepared to give evidence vis-a-vis the killing of 11 inmates on November 10. At the prison mayhem on November 9, 27 prisoners were killed and eyewitnesses alleged that 11 inmates were killed by the police after the riot was quelled, consequent to their names being called in the early hours of November 10, after prisoners were made to sit on the floor.

Sri Lanka Opposition Calls Prison Deaths Massacre; photos show the way they killed

see more photos below

NEWS: Sri Lanka’s main opposition party described the deaths of 27 inmates after a prison riot as a “cold-blooded massacre” and demanded a parliamentary investigation. Authorities have said the prisoners died in a shootout.

Mangala Samaraweera, a lawmaker for United National party, said that he had information that most of the prisoners killed during Friday’s clash had been gunned down by police commandos and soldiers.
“It’s a massacre that has to be condemned. It shows the breakdown of the rule of law in the country,” Samaraweera said Sunday.

Borella turned into Pudumathalan and the re-appearance of Niemöller

Photo courtesy CNN

Sunanda Deshapriya

The photos of prisoners, like thugs, holding a few machine guns on the roof of Welikada Prison, challenging a government which is capable of terrorizing an entire country, what do they tell us? The news of the mass murder which was a response to that challenge, what does that tell us?
The photos and the news are two sides of the same coin. And the coin reflects the reality of Sri Lanka. It shows that intimidation, violence and murder have replaced humanity.

Were prisoners summarily executed? Prison officials so allege

relatives of the killed prisoners calls for justice ( BBC photo) 

Ranga Jayasuriya
scores of inmates who died in the Welikada prison clash were in fact summarily executed by the Special Task Force after the army commandos quelled the prison riot, prisoners and prison officials allege. “The last inmate was killed at around 6 am on Saturday,” said a prison employee.
“ The army took control of the prison around 2-3 am on Saturday. After  the riot was quelled,  prisoners had reportedly to gone to their cells. Later, the STF came with a list of names and some inmates were asked to come out of their cells” said an official.

True version of the Prison massacre : Jailor , guards write to the superiors on how prisoners were killed

an injured  remand prison ( photo: Lanka e News)

(Lanka-e-News)The Prison officers have written anonymous letters to the Prisons Commissioner and the IGP describing how the STF officers arrived and took four prisoners out, handcuffed and killed them by shooting. These are premeditated and planned murders , they have added.

Condemn idiotic decisions of the government that plays with human lives – JVP

STF petrolong the roads after the shooting (photo : washingtonpost.)

The idiotic decision taken by the government to deploy STF troops to inspect Welikada prison should be condemned, the government has treated human lives with utter simplicity which is the mentality of the government states the JVP issuing a media statement regarding the incident that occurred in Welikada prison.

27 inmates killed in Sri Lanka prison shootout

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  Enlarge PhotoAssociated Press/Gemunu Amarasinghe - 

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A shootout between rioting prisoners and security forces at a prison in Sri Lanka's capital killed at least 27 inmates, while police said Saturday that they arrested five prisoners who had managed to escape and were searching for others.

Amnesty International on Violence at Welikada prison

Clashes between prisoners and guards broke out at Colombo’s Welikada prison today after members of Sri Lanka’s Special Task Force (STF), an elite commando unit, searched the prison for banned items.
Prisoners allegedly seized weapons from, and took control of, the prison’s armoury and an exchange of fire was reported between inmates, the STF and prison guards. At least 11 people have been killed, with many others injured.