End crime directed from prison - President

Chaminda PERERA

President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday said there should be a mechanism to put a halt to prisoners directing criminal activities from behind prisons wall.

He said the Government is fully aware of the situation where prison inmates are directly involved in directing criminal activities while in confinement.

President Rajapaksa was speaking at a ceremony to mark the Prisoners’ Welfare Day at Temple Trees yesterday. He is the first Head of State to meet Prisons Department officials and convicts in the department’s history. The President presented certificates to prison inmates who have displayed their talents in various fields. The Moneragala remand prison was adjudged the best prison of the country while the award for the best detention centre went to the Pallekele Detention centre.

The people who were unable to pay a fine imposed by the court are sent to remand prison and remand prisoners are further penalized. He said the people who are accused of various crimes and offences are being punished while being in remand prison before they are convicted by a court. There is a habit of sending each and everyone to prison and this situation should be changed. The Prison officials have been entrusted with the responsibility of rehabilitating the people who were convicted by a court.

He said that there are prison inmates who are aiding and abetting illegal activities within the prison walls. Hardcore criminals may be created by the prisons when they are heavily congested. The President added that a number of social problems will be imminent, if the officials continue supporting the convicts to indulge in offences.

He added that the drug barons and dealers are at large while the addicts are behind the bar and the Government has focused on the rehabilitation of prison inmates who have addicted to drugs. The Prison officials’ duty is to ensure that the convicts who are released by the Department at the end of their jail term would not return as prisoners. “According to the Dhamma, those who commit wrong are punished naturally,” he added. The President said certain people tarnished his image by levelling various allegations against him on the political platform and these politicians are paying for this and the same media has begun lashing them. The President added that the Government has a clear understanding over problems faced by the Prison officials.

“They should be prepared to discharge their duty in a more humane way,” he added. Ven Uduwe Dhammaloka Thera, Prison Reforms Minister DEW Gunasekera, Deputy Minister Vijith Vijithamuni De Soysa, Ministry Secretary A. Dissanayake and Prisoners Welfare Society President and Former Secretary General of Parliament Sam Wijesinghe were present.