COLOMBO – Sri Lanka is considering the introduction of legal provisions to retain suspects and accused persons under house arrest instead of remanding them, cabinet spokesman Minister Bandula Gunawardena announced.
“The congestion in the prisons has been a long-standing issue in Sri Lanka,” Gunawardena told a cabinet media briefing on Tuesday (12).
“Prisoner upkeep costs the government a great deal, paid for by the taxes we collect from the public,” he said, explaining that a committee chaired by a Supreme Court judge was appointed to furnish appropriate recommendations to introduce legal provisions to keep the suspects/offenders under house arrest like in other countries.
“This is instead of them being imprisoned or remanded, and as a remedy to the issue of overcrowding in prisons,” he said
The cabinet had approved the proposal by Minister of Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe to instruct the Legal Draftsman to prepare a draft bill based on the committee reoprt, Gunawardena said.
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