The Committee for Protecting the Rights of Prisoners (CPRP) has written to the Country Representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), urging the latter to immediately visit the Angunakolapelessa Prison for an urgent assessment of the Covid-19 situation within it. On 5 May, in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, the CPRP had also appealed to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to ensure the protection of all prisoners. The Covid-19 virus affected over 1,000 prisoners in 2020. The unrest ultimately resulted in 11 deaths and 108 injured inmates, where media reports show that prison guards had opened fire on the prisoners. Prisoners at the Welikada and Angunakolapelessa Prisons also held protests regarding the Covid-19 situation in the days preceding the Mahara Prison unrest.

Source: The Nation May 10, 2021 22:52 UTC