LTTE detainee transferred from northern Sri Lanka prison dies

A Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suspect who was transferred from the Vavuniya Prison in Northern Sri Lanka to the Mahara prison after the unrest has died this morning, a prison spokesman said. According to a prison spokesman at the Mahara prison,
the suspect who was receiving treatment at the prison hospital following his transfer from Vavuniya has suddenly fallen ill and upon admission to the Ragama Hospital has died. The deceased has been identified as a 29 year old resident of Nelumkulama in Vavuniya, local radio Hiru FM reported. The spokesman has said that the detainee had a wound on his hand but the reason for his death has not been determined yet. It was not clear whether the suspect received the injury during the riot at the Vavuniya prison last week. LTTE detainees took three prison officials at the Vavuniya Prison hostage last week when the police tried to escort out a detainee from the prison under a court order. A combined police and Special Task Force operation rescued the three hostages a day later. Following the incident Vavuniya prison officials took measures to transfer all the LTTE prisoners at the prison to other prisons. Accordingly, 28 LTTE detainees have been transferred to the Mahara Prison and 4 detainees injured during the rescue operation are still receiving treatment at the Ragama Hospital.