Negombo prison autopsies show guards beaten to death, most inmates killed by gunfire
COLOMBO – Post-mortem examinations into the deadly violence at Negombo Prison have found that prison officers killed during the unrest died from severe head injuries sustained in brutal assaults, while most inmate fatalities were caused by gunshot wounds, judicial medical officials said.
A team of Judicial Medical Officers (JMOs) has so far completed autopsies on 24 of the victims, both prison officers and inmates who died during the violence of July 5 and 6, finding that 14 deaths were caused by gunshot wounds and nine by blunt-force assaults. The death of one prison officer who succumbed to his injuries while under treatment at the Colombo National Hospital was also reported to the Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court, with post-mortem proceedings on his case now complete.
Autopsies on seven prison officers were carried out at the Negombo District General Hospital, while an eighth officer’s body was examined at the Colombo National Hospital. The examinations found the officers had suffered extensive head trauma, including skull fractures and severe brain haemorrhaging, along with multiple injuries elsewhere on their bodies. Judicial medical officers said the findings indicated they had been violently assaulted before they died.
Among the inmates, post-mortems have been completed on 16 of the 20 victims identified so far. JMOs found that the two inmates who died in the initial clash on July 5 had succumbed to injuries from severe assaults, while the remaining 14 inmates examined had died from gunshot wounds.
Authorities said a post-mortem is also expected on the body of a 73-year-old Indian national who died during the unrest.
The two-day disturbance at Negombo Prison ranks among the deadliest in Sri Lanka in recent years. Investigations by police, the Department of Prisons and other authorities into the deaths and the circumstances that triggered the violence are continuing.
-ENCL
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