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All 21 prisoners killed during the deadly violence at Negombo Prison were remand detainees awaiting trial and had not been convicted of any offence, according to Sri Lanka’s Department of Prisons.
The Island reported that a senior prisons official confirmed none of the inmates killed were convicted prisoners. The official said the majority of those injured in the violence were also remand prisoners who had not been found guilty of any crime, describing it as "surprising" that no convicted prisoners were among those killed in the incident.
According to the Department of Prisons, two of the detainees died on 5 July, while a further 17 were killed the following day inside the prison. The remaining two died after being transferred to other prisons.
The death toll among prison officers has risen to 10 after two officers receiving treatment in the intensive care unit at the National Hospital in Colombo succumbed to their injuries. Ada Derana reported that the latest deaths brought the total number killed in the Negombo Prison violence to 31, including 10 prison officers and 21 inmates.
The violence took place at Negombo Prison on 5 and 6 July, in one of Sri Lanka’s deadliest prison incidents in recent years.
Initial media reports had claimed that the attack was carried out by suspects targeting convicted prisoners who had allegedly provided intelligence to prison authorities. However, with prison officials confirming that none of those killed were convicted inmates, the violence is now understood to have involved prison officers and a particular group of remand detainees.
The revelation raises further questions over the official handling of the unrest, the use of force inside the prison and the treatment of detainees who had not been convicted by any court.
Negombo Prison was reportedly holding around 2,400 inmates despite having a designed capacity of only 650, highlighting the severe overcrowding that has long affected Sri Lanka’s prison system.
The Committee for Protecting Rights of Prisoners raised concerns with a visiting United Nations delegation last month over overcrowding, custodial deaths, torture and deteriorating detention conditions across Sri Lanka. The group said the national prison overcrowding rate had reached 286.6 per cent, with 65.4 per cent of the prison population made up of remand prisoners awaiting trial.
Amnesty International has called for an urgent and independent investigation into the deaths of two prisoners transferred from Negombo Prison following the clashes, as well as allegations that other transferred inmates were subjected to torture and ill-treatment.