Misguided deployment of unarmed staff directly contributed to officer deaths during prison mutiny - HRCSL

Senior management at the Prisons Department made flawed operational decisions that directly contributed to the deaths of ten officers during a deadly riot at Negombo Prison, a Rights Commission inquiry has revealed.

The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) released its investigation report into the July outbreak of violence, which resulted in thirty-two deaths and left over one hundred people injured.

Inquiry findings showed that senior officials sent unarmed Emergency Response Tactical Force personnel and assessment staff into volatile ward sectors on 6 July without conducting risk evaluations or providing tactical protection.

The Commission concluded that long-standing structural failings, lax administrative control, and severe overcrowding made the tragedy inevitable.

Records indicated that the Negombo facility housed 2,418 inmates at the time of the incident despite having a maximum design capacity of 900.

Staffing shortages worsened the vulnerability, with only 178 officers available against an authorized strength of 435, forcing guards to work continuous ten-day shifts.

Prison guards lacked basic non-lethal riot control equipment, such as body armour and tear gas, when factional clashes erupted across Wards Two and Four on 5 July.

Authorities failed to isolate the initial disputes or take prompt disciplinary action against ringleaders, allowing tensions to escalate into a full-scale mutiny overnight.

Unrest originally broke out over resentment towards informal inmate networks, specifically prisoners accused of informing officials about illicit drug trading within the facility.

Inmates killed two fellow prisoners during the initial clashes before raiding the medical store, leading to widespread drug intoxication across the prison population.

Guards subsequently fired Type-56 assault rifles to prevent prisoners from breaching the main perimeter gate, with final ballistic verifications still pending post-mortem reports.

Following the suppression of the riot, authorities transferred hundreds of prisoners across eleven facilities, where arriving inmates were allegedly subjected to beatings with heavy cables and wooden truncheons.

Rights investigators documented visible contusions on transferred prisoners and opened formal inquiries into two deaths that occurred in custody at the Boossa and Angunukolapellessa facilities.

The rights body recommended criminal prosecutions under the Penal Code for all officers and inmates responsible for murder, torture, or unlawful force.

State officials were urged to fully implement national prison reform plans, expand non-custodial sentencing, and provide full compensation to affected families.