The Vavuniya prison is badly overcrowded and like a torture chamber, said a former inmate.
It housed 586 inmates by last Tuesday, whereas its capacity is less than 200, Subramaniam Thavapalasingham told journalists on 21 March after he was freed by courts.
Police failed to prove the allegation against him and several others that they had violated a court ban and made Hindu religious offerings at an archaeological site at Nedunkerni two weeks earlier.
Thavapalasingham added the prison also lacked basic facilities and most inmates suffered from skin ailments due to the hot weather conditions.
Describing the situation there as a violation of basic human rights, he warned the lives of the inmates were at risk as a result.
A government survey in 2021 found severe overcrowding in all prisons, with Kegalle prison leading with 511 per cent and Colombo remand prison at 443 pc.
Overall, it stood at 148.6 pc in 2016, but continued to rise again to 248.7 pc in 2020.
