On Wednesday, Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Commission (HRCSL) visited Anuradhapura prison as part of their investigation into State Minister, Lohan Ratwatte, after he had stormed the prison and forced Tamil prisoners to kneel before him at gun point.

During their inquiry they accepted conflicting statements from the prisoners and the jailers with the latter denying that the incident took place. HRCSL Commissioner  Nimal Karunasiri told reporters that “jailers said that all they did was provide security to the Minister upon his arrival at the complex” but they denied having seen the event, claiming that they were “going around the jail ensuring security protocols for the minister were in place”.

Former Sri Lankan commissioner for human rights, Ambika Satkunanathan, pointed out that this was implausible as it is a critical part of the security protocol to accompany the minister during his visit.

3/No visitor to prison, esp a Minister, would be allowed to walk around without a jailor for security.

If he was unaccompanied then what kind of security did they provide?

Persons detained under PTA are in the interior of prison which has to be accessed via few locked gates.

— Ambika Satkunanathan (@ambikasat) September 16, 2021

Whilst Karunasiri has stated that the next step would be to hand over the information gathered “to representative officials for further investigation, Satkunanathan highlights that the mandate of the commissioner “is not to merely gather info & submit to other entities for investigation but to assess whether FRS have been violated & issues rec”.

5/Re next steps, he said info “gathered by HRCSL will be handed over to respective officials for further investigations”. @HRCSriLanka’s mandate is not to merely gather info & submit to other entities for investigations but to assess whether FRs have been violated & issue rec.

— Ambika Satkunanathan (@ambikasat) September 16, 2021

The independence of the HRCSL has been called into question following the appointment of an all Sinhalese board in November following the passage of the controversial 20^th amendment. At the time, Satkunanathan maintained that the institution could no longer be considered independent.

Whilst Ratwatte has resigned from his post as Minister for Prisoners Management and Rehabilitation he has retained as a Minister overseeing other subjects. Both the TNA and TNPF have called for his immediate sacking and arrest.

Immediate legal action including arrest and prosecution must be taken against Lohan Ratwatte and others who were involved in the incidents at Welikada and Anuradhapura prisons. Mere resignation from one portfolio will not suffice. pic.twitter.com/U4eTxX2KGx

— Abraham Sumanthiran (@MASumanthiran) September 16, 2021

TNA parliamentarian, M.A Sumanthiran maintained that he must be removed from all his positions immediately and noted that his gun must be confiscated otherwise it would be “a grave threat to the public at large”.

Lohan Ratwatte has a history of mass murder and irresponsible behaviour with firearms. He led the killing of ten unarmed Muslims during the 2001 general elections for which he was convicted and sentenced by the high court. He was later acquitted on flimsy grounds. 

More recently, in late December 2020, he terrified hotel guests in Kandy by firing gunshots into the air reportedly due to anger. 

Read more here.

Read Satkunanathan's twitter thread here.