Sri Lanka Prison Riots: 28 Dead, Over 100 Injured in Overcrowded Facility

At least 28 people were killed and over 100 injured in a prison riot in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Monday, November 25, 2024. The violence erupted at the Mahara Prison, one of the country's most overcrowded facilities, following days of escalating tensions. Authorities have deployed the military and transferred hundreds of inmates to other prisons to restore order.

The riots began after inmates informed officials about an alleged drug operation inside the prison. Some inmates reportedly seized weapons from guards, while others attacked rival gang members with clubs and stones. Eight guards were among the dead. The incident is one of the deadliest prison riots in Sri Lanka's history.

The Sri Lankan government has appointed a three-member committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge to investigate the incident. Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara described the deaths as 'deeply shocking' and stated that the government accepts responsibility for the deaths in state custody.

The riot highlights two key challenges facing the administration of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake: the narcotics menace and chronic prison overcrowding. According to the 2024 Auditor General's Report, as of December 31, 2024, Sri Lanka's prisons housed 28,278 inmates against an approved capacity of 10,395—operating at nearly three times their capacity. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka had found prison conditions dire as early as 2020, citing overcrowding and under-resourcing.

This is the third major prison riot in Sri Lanka in recent years, following the 2012 Welikada prison riots (27 inmates killed by police) and the 2020 Mahara riots (11 deaths). The government's response and the pace of the investigation will be closely watched as indicators of its commitment to addressing long-standing prison reform concerns.

Authorities have linked the immediate trigger to the drug underworld, which the Dissanayake administration has been cracking down on. The government has pledged to continue efforts to disable drug networks that pose a threat both inside and outside prisons.