Site of Welikade Prison moved

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 December 1998, 23:49 GMT]
Welikade prison, where many Tamils political prisoners are detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and emergency regulations, is to be moved from Welikade to Athurugiriya and Wattal in the suburbs of Colombo, said sources.

Though the Urban Development Authority wants to shift the prison to utilise the land for commercial expansion, prison officials are reportedly unhappy about the move.

They say that the prison should be near the courts, which it will not be, if it is shifted to Athurugiriya and Wattala.

Four Tamils were fined by the Negombo Magistrate today. Two of them were accused of attempting to fly to Denmark with forged passports. The other two were charged for assisting them. They were arrested in an Indian Airport in transit and deported to Sri Lanka.