Human Rights Watch (HRW) joined a host of other international organisations in denouncing the death penalty handed to a senior prison official over his role in the killing of at least 27 inmates in a prison massacre, calling it stating it “does nothing to address the very real concerns” over the 2012 killings.

The joint later, signed by the Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN), Capital Punishment Justice Project, FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights), Eleos Justice at Monash University and HRW, stated that “using the death penalty, a form of state-sanctioned killing, as a punishment for someone convicted of state-enabled killing, highlights the absurdity of the state being empowered to take the lives of individuals”.

“Whilst on the surface, the conviction and sentencing of Mr. Lamahewage appears to be holding one prison official to account, scapegoating by sentencing one individual to death does nothing to address the very real concerns regarding the events that led to the 2012 Welikada Prison incident,” the letter said.

“Holding those responsible to account is an important step towards justice for victims and survivors of the Welikada Prison incident. That said, the imposition of the death penalty does not achieve this and is never an appropriate way to administer justice.”

The organisations go on to call on the Sri Lankan government to “formalise its de facto moratorium and abolish the death penalty”.

“In the interim, all options should be explored for those sentenced to death,  including individualized resentencing,  taking into consideration  each incarcerated person’s mitigating circumstances, the weight of the evidence presented at trial, and the lengthy sentences of imprisonment many have already served, in very difficult conditions.”

1,284 people remained on death row in Sri Lanka as of September 2020.

See the full text of the letter here.