It has been revealed that congestion in prisons has increased up to 259 percent.
The revelation was made during a meeting of the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) held on June 09.
Speaking, Commissioner General of Prisons – Thushara Upuldeniya has said in some prisons congestion has increased to 300% – 400%.
Secretary of the Justice Ministry – Wasantha Perera has also stated that the total number of prison inmates are 26,791 despite all the prisons in the country being capable of accommodating only 11,762 inmates.
Prisons Commissioner Thushara Upuldeniya has said 17,502 inmates are remand prisoners while 9,289 are convicted prisoners.
It has also been revealed that 1,309 inmates were languishing in prisons while being unable to pay fines imposed by courts.
