Sri Lanka Marxist organization complains of preventing lawyers from visiting rebel prisoners

The Marxist party, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), affiliated 'We Are Sri Lankan', an organization that is agitating for the release of Tamil detainees in Sri Lanka, is to complain to the Chief Justice and the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) on prison officials preventing lawyers from visiting the Anuradhapura Prison.


Executive committee member of the We Are Sri Lankans (WASL) Udul Premaratne said the lawyers were prevented from visiting the prisoners even after they had signed the entry book at the prison premises.

He told ColomboPage that the Prison Superintendent had informed that they could not meet the prisoners following an order from a higher office to the effect due to a hunger strike commenced by the Tamil Tiger inmates.

A tense situation was reported at the prison on Sunday following a clash between Tamil and Sinhala inmates. It was reported that the LTTE suspects in the prison were celebrating the 'Heroes Day' in the prison pemises.

WASL lawyers had visited the prison to meet with the prisoners who have been allegedly attacked during the clash.

The officials say the LTTE suspects detained in the prison had accused the prison officials of assaulting them and started a fast when the prison officials conducted a search operation in their cells for illegal possessions.

Prison officials say 19 mobile phones were found during the search