Petition against assault of Agunukolapelessa prison inmates fixed for Sep 9

The petition seeking a court order to probe the assault of inmates at the Agunukolapelessa prison by prison guards last year was fixed for September 9 by the Appeal Court.

This was announced when the petition was taken up before a two-member judge bench of Justices Yasantha Kodagoda and Arjuna Obeysekara.

Sudesh Nandimal Silva the Secretary of the Committee for Protecting the Rights of Prisoners (CPRP) had filed the petition.

He had sought a court order instructing the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to probe the assault of inmates on November 22 last year.

The petitioner stated that he had filed a complaint at the CID on January 15 along with video footage of the assault to conduct an investigation into the incident. However, he claims that the neither the CID nor any of the respondents to this petition have conducted a probe into the matter.

Among the respondents to the petition were the IGP, CID Director, Justice Minister Thalatha Athukorale, the Agunukolapelessa Prison Superintendent, and the Prisons Commissioner General.