Sri Lanka’s Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe declared “there are no political prisoners in the country’s prisons,” as protests continue across the island.
Mr Rajapakshe, the government’s justice minister and minister of the Buddha Sasana, told reporters:
“The prisoners are ones who are held for aiding and abetting the activities of LTTE terrorists. They are not political prisoners.”
His comments come after over 200 Tamil political detainees across the island started a hunger strike on Monday, demanding to be released.
Protests and hunger strikes in support of the prisoners, calling for their immediate release have taken place in Jaffna, whilst the Chief Minister of the Northern Province C. V. Wigneswaran also called for the issue to be addressed.
See our earlier posts:
TNA MP pledges to join hunger strike if Sri Lankan government does not release Tamil political prisoners (15 Oct 2015)
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