Tamil prisoners file Fundamental Rights petition at Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court

The Tamil prisoners seek interim relief after Prisons Minister ‘threatened them at gunpoint’

As many as eight Tamil prisoners in Sri Lanka’s Anuradhapura prison on Thursday petitioned the country’s Supreme Court, seeking relief after a ‘gun-wielding’ Prisons Minister allegedly threatened them a fortnight ago.

The prisoners stated that they fear for their lives, asking to be transferred to a prison in the Tamil-majority Northern Province. Jaffna parliamentarian and senior lawyer M.A. Sumanthiran will appear for them in the case, media reports said.

On September 15, Lohan Ratwatte, who was State Minister of Prison Management and Prisoners’ Rehabilitation, stepped down from the portfolio amid enormous pressure, after allegations of his asking Tamil prisoners to kneel, threatening them at gunpoint, surfaced. Mr. Ratwatte is still a junior Minister in the Rajapaksa administration, overseeing the Gem and Jewellery portfolio, although government critics have demanded that he be sacked from all positions, citing the reported incident that sparked much public outrage.