Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa stated in Parliament today that although a question regarding the unrest that occurred at the Negombo Prison, which was scheduled to be presented on 8 July 2026, had been submitted under Standing Order 27(2), he was not given the opportunity to raise the matter in the House.
According to Standing Order 27(2), all questions notified to the Secretary General, except those that the Speaker decides are disorderly, must be included in the Order Book of Parliament for answers on a date not exceeding seven full days from the date of notification. At the conclusion of questions, the Leader of the Opposition or the leader of a recognized political party may ask a question of general importance after giving formal notice to the relevant Minister.
Premadasa said the government should reveal whether the reason behind the clash at the Negombo Prison has been identified, which party or authority issued the order to deploy the Police Special Task Force to control the situation, and under what legal provisions such an order was issued.
He further stated that information should be provided on whether the orders were issued at the appropriate time, the loss of lives and property reported so far due to the incident, and whether an independent and impartial investigation will be conducted into the incident, with its report presented to Parliament.
The Opposition Leader also requested details regarding the compensation expected to be provided by the government to injured inmates, the families of deceased inmates, and other related measures. He also sought information on the compensation to be provided to the families of officers involved in the incident.
In addition, Premadasa questioned the period during which the Prisons Department has been functioning without a permanent Commissioner General and requested details on measures taken to address overcrowding and security weaknesses within prisons, if such shortcomings contributed to the incident.
He also called for the presentation of the national programme being implemented by the government to protect the lives of inmates and prevent similar incidents in the future, considering the history of such occurrences.
The Opposition Leader further stated that preventing the government from allowing these questions to be raised in Parliament is a violation of his parliamentary privileges. He emphasized that the questions raised were not intended as political debates but were aimed at collecting factual information regarding the incident at the Negombo Prison.
Premadasa said that specific information was not provided during the adjournment debate and that the question he raised yesterday from the relevant Minister during the debate was rejected. He claimed that this situation violates the people’s right to know the truth and therefore affects the freedom of speech.
He further highlighted that a prisoner who was transferred from the Negombo Prison to the Boossa Prison following the incident has also died, and since the situation in other prisons remains unclear, a proper investigation must be conducted and necessary action taken.
Premadasa also criticized the interpretation by the Leader of the House that these concerns were misleading, insisting that accurate data and information should be presented to Parliament without creating confusion or misleading the House.
