The Committee for Protecting Rights of Prisoners (CPRP), yesterday (16), handed over a letter to the Presidential Secretariat, requesting President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to intervene, in light of the spreading of COVID-19, to release eligible prisoners.
Copies of the letter were also sent to the Minister in charge of the subject of prisons and the Commissioner General of Prisons.
Committee Chairman, Attorney-at-Law Senaka Perera, speaking to Ceylon Today, explained that their requests concerned a number of matters, including the review of the behaviour and conduct of prisoners and their release.
“The review of prisoners’ behaviour and conduct should be done and those who have already been deemed fit on this basis should be released.
For those eligible, such as long-term prisoners, those who have served half of their sentence, and those who have served six years, the home leave/holiday procedure should be activated and expedited on the basis of good behaviour and conduct.
Those who have received minor sentences (such as of six months), those who have only small fines to pay (in the range of four to five numerals), elderly prisoners above the age of 70 years, and those prisoners who are extremely ill, should also be released,” he said.
