Rights group protests curbs on legal access to transferred Negombo inmates
COLOMBO ‒ Lawyers who visited Welikada Prison on Monday (13) to provide legal assistance to inmates transferred from Negombo Prison following the recent clash said they were unable to meet the prisoners privately after prison authorities insisted that the consultations be conducted under official supervision.
The Committee for the Protection of Prisoners’ Rights (CPPR) objecting to the prison authorities’restrictions, lodged a written complaint with Prison Headquarters, arguing that such restrictions undermine confidential lawyer-client consultations.
Speaking to reporters outside Prison Headquarters after submitting the complaint, Committee Chairman and Attorney-at-Law Senaka Perera said the lawyers had sought permission to meet two inmates transferred from Negombo Prison but were informed by the Welikada Prison Superintendent that the consultations would have to take place in the presence of prison officials.
Perera said confidential communication between lawyers and their clients is a fundamental requirement of legal representation and that the presence of prison officers prevented inmates from speaking freely.
He said the transferred prisoners needed legal advice on matters including allegations of torture and other incidents they claimed to have experienced following the unrest at Negombo Prison. However, the inmates were unwilling to discuss such sensitive matters while prison officials were within hearing distance.
“As lawyers, we provide legal advice in private and in strict confidence. Under these conditions, it was not possible to proceed with the consultations,” Perera said.
He said the committee had informed Prison Headquarters in writing that it could not provide legal assistance to the inmates unless confidential access was guaranteed.
Perera also warned that if prison authorities continued to impose what he described as indirect obstacles to lawyers meeting prisoners and providing legal counsel, the committee was prepared to pursue legal action.
-ENCL
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