A prisoner convicted in the murder of former Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) parliamentarian Amarakeerthi Athukorala has died after reportedly falling from a building inside Welikada Prison, according to Sri Lankan prison authorities.
The deceased, identified as a 29-year-old inmate from Pasyala, had been sentenced to death over the 2022 killing of Athukorala during the height of Sri Lanka’s Aragalaya uprising.
Prison officials stated that the inmate sustained critical injuries following the fall and was admitted to the National Hospital of Sri Lanka for treatment, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
In February this year, a Trial-at-Bar of the Gampaha High Court sentenced 12 individuals to death over the murder of former MP Athukorala and his police security officer in Nittambuwa on May 9, 2022. Twenty-three accused were acquitted, while four others received suspended prison sentences.
Athukorala and his security officer were killed during unrest linked to the anti-government protests that swept across Sri Lanka in 2022. Prosecutors filed charges against dozens of suspects following investigations into the mob attack.
The latest prison death has intensified public scrutiny, marking the third death in just over two weeks connected to high-profile criminal or corruption-related investigations in Sri Lanka.
On April 30, a suspended Finance Ministry official linked to the controversial US$2.5 million Treasury fraud case was found dead at his residence under unexplained circumstances. A panel of Judicial Medical Consultants later ruled the death a suicide caused by self-inflicted injuries. However, activists and politicians raised concerns over the sudden death of a key figure connected to revelations surrounding the alleged fraud.
Days later, former SriLankan Airlines CEO Kapila Chandrasena, who faced bribery and corruption allegations tied to the Airbus procurement scandal, was also found dead shortly after a court ordered his re-arrest.
With the death of the Welikada prison inmate convicted in the Athukorala murder case, concerns are mounting over a series of sudden deaths linked to politically sensitive investigations and prosecutions in Sri Lanka.
