The Committee for Protecting Rights of Prisoners (CPRP) yesterday criticised remarks by the Prisons Commissioner suggesting that drug traffickers sentenced to death should be executed, saying that hangings are not a solution to Sri Lanka’s prison overcrowding.

Speaking at a press conference, Attorney-at-Law Senaka Perera of the CPRP noted that the government’s current policy is to refrain from carrying out the death penalty. He was responding to comments by Prisons Commissioner Jagath Weerasinghe, who proposed that drug traffickers sentenced to death be hanged, while also pointing out that Sri Lanka has over 36,000 prisoners in facilities designed for just 10,500.

Perera said that by opposing the government’s policy, the Prisons Commissioner undermines his ability to manage prisons effectively and ensure justice for inmates.

“Criminals are not born; they are created by social inequalities. A crime-free society can only be achieved by addressing the conditions that produce crime. Running prisons under someone who supports the death penalty will never help rehabilitation,” Perera explained.

He further warned that officers holding such views risk acting against the vision of the Prisons Department and are not suitable to work with prisoners.

Perera added that the principle that “prisoners are also human beings” can only be realised by ending actions that deny them justice.