Tamil politicians have been asked to intervene to secure the release of political prisoners who have been imprisoned for years.
In a statement, the Voice of the Voice and relatives of political prisoners called on Tamil politicians to discuss the release of political prisoners with the president and prime minister.
According to the statement, there are currently 79 political prisoners in prison.
Of these, 40 political prisoners are being held at the Colombo Magazine Prison, 27 at the Anuradhapura Prison and 12 at other prisons, according to the Voice of the Voiceless.
They emphasize that there are political prisoners who have been imprisoned for more than 20 years without being produced in court on any given day.
The majority of political prisoners suffer from severe stress in addition to physical illness, they said in a statement.
The paradox of government
The ruling party is currently divided over whether or not there are political prisoners in Sri Lankan prisons.
When Ali Sabri, the Minister of Justice, told Parliament on January 7 that no prisoners were being held in Sri Lanka prisons on political charges under the Sri Lankan Penal Code, National List MP Suren Raghavan, representing the government, had said that it was “technically”. Despite the denials, there are political prisoners in Sri Lanka.
“But we know the reality is that there are still prisoners of all three races, Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims involved in politics,” he said.
Asked what steps the government would take with regard to political prisoners, the Minister of Justice had said that the government should take a policy decision in this regard.
According to the Minister of Justice, by October 31, 2020, all those imprisoned under the Prevention of Terrorism Act will be Tamils.
Among them were one prisoner who was sentenced to death, two who were sentenced to life imprisonment, three who were sentenced to ordinary imprisonment, one who appealed after the death sentence was handed down, seven who appealed after being sentenced to life imprisonment, and one who was sentenced to ordinary imprisonment. There are also three who appealed later.
Ali Sabri, President’s Counsel to the Minister of Justice, had stated in Parliament on January 7 that no juvenile suspects have been charged or imprisoned under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and LTTE activities and are currently being held in Sri Lankan prisons.