Sri Lankan cabinet spokesperson and government minister Rajitha Senaratne reiterated that there are no political prisoners being kept in Sri Lankan jails, reports the Daily Mirror.
Speaking to reporters at the weekly cabinet news briefing, Mr Senaratne stated that prisoners who have been involved in “terrorist activities during and after the conflict” would be prosecuted as soon as possible.
He added that some of the prosecutions would be “fast tracked” where the Attorney-General felt there is “strong evidence” against the accused.
His comments come after over 200 Tamil political prisoners ended a hunger strike last week after pledges to establish a mechanism to process and release prisoners who had committed "minor offences".
Last week Sri Lanka’s Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe also declared “there are no political prisoners in the country’s prisons”. 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.”