SL ‘Justice’ Minister draws flak, Tamil prisoners demand Sirisena's response

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 October 2015, 21:27 GMT]
Mr Mano Ganesan, who has recently become SL minister for ‘National Dialogue’ visited Colombo Magazine Prison on Wednesday and discussed with the Tamil political prisoners who are on hunger strike demanding immediate action from the Sri Lankan Government on their release. The prisoners on hunger strike categorically told Mr Ganesan that they were not prepared to drop their hunger strike without a favourable response from SL President Maithiripala Sirisena. The families of the prisoners on hunger strike have strongly condemned Colombo's minister of Justice, Mr Wijeyadasa Rajapakse who went record claiming there were no ‘political prisoners’ in the prisons.

At least six Tamil political prisoners have been admitted to hospitals from all the prisons, news sources in Jaffna and Colombo said on Wednesday.

There have been protests in support of the Tamil political prisoners in Colombo on Wednesday.

An agitation is being organised at Muniyappar temple in Jaffna on Friday in support of the demands by the Tamil political prisoners in the prisons of genocidal Sri Lanka.

More than 200 Tamil political prisoners are on hunger strike since Monday this week.

Among the prisoners on hunger strike, there are detainees who are yet to face their trials, those facing prolonged trials and those serving their sentences.

The official figures from prison authorities have put the figure of known cases of Tamil prisoners with former militant background between 262 and 273. Thousands of missing persons are not among these ‘known’ cases.

The SL regime has denied the existence of undeclared detention of former LTTE members and the continuation of torture chambers such as the notorious ‘Gota’ camp in Trincomalee.

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