Ali Sabri, President’s Counsel and the Minister of Justice, has stated that the LTTE suspects have stated that they have no problem with the security or facilities provided to them in prisons and that they are requesting to go to the Jaffna Prison thinking of their families.
He was speaking to the media after visiting the LTTE suspects and inspecting prison facilities and security.
The Minister said that the LTTE suspects had requested for their transfer to prisons in the North not because of a security problem in the city but because their families could easily reach their places of residence to visit them.
When asked if the LTTE suspects had any influence on the ongoing investigations into the former Minister of State for Prisons, the prisoners said they had not been affected by any recent incident, racism or any other issue. He further added that they were told that this was not the case.
He has also stated that investigations into the former minister will be carried out independently.
Minister of State Lohan Ratwatte had placed a pistol on the heads of several Tamil prisoners at the Anuradhapura Prison on the 12th and threatened to kill them.
Opposition and government ministers had visited the Anuradhapura prison to inquire into the matter. The prisoners have always demanded to be transferred to prisons in the North for their safety. This was revealed by the Tamil Parliamentarians in Parliament recently.
But the statement of the Minister of Justice is a completely different story. Prisons department insiders say the incident will eventually prove that nothing happened.
Shani
