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| Sunday, 12 December 2004 |
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No privileges for prisoner H21569 by Rohan Mathes The Commissioner General of Prisons Rumy Marzook reiterates that all facilities provided to UNP Parliamentarian S.B. Dissanayake complies with the the normal 'Prisons Ordinance' and practices. In an exclusive interview to the Sunday Observer at the Welikada Prison headquarters, Marzook said, "nothing special is given to S.B. Dissanayake. He sleeps on a 'padura'. If he is ill, he will be given treatment. He eats prison food. Three from the family would be permitted to visit him once a month. He is now engaged in printing work. He wears the normal 'jumper' prison attire". He added that under Section 39 of the 'Prisons Ordinance', parliamentarians and judicial officers could visit the prison at any time. However, they are not expected to have exclusive interviews with convicted prisoners. Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, JHU Parliamentarian Ven. Uduwe Dhammaloka Thera, UNP Jaffna District MP T. Maheswaran and Akila Kariyawasam MP visited the Prisons and met S.B. Dissanayake. "S.B. Dissanayake is another prisoner. Whatever he does inside the prison, would be just under the scrutiny of the Prisons authorities. If he wishes to write anything it would be checked by the Prisons authorities to ascertain whether it is defamatory in nature. Mobile phones will not be permitted inside the cells. We have detected 30 phones belonging to other prison inmates, inside S.B. Dissanayake's cell, and removed them", Marzook added. The Assistant Superintendent of Prisons Welikada, Gamini Jayasinghe in an exclusive interview to the Sunday Observer said that the Prisons does not have luxury facilities and S.B. Dissanayake is treated as any other convicted prisoner. "He is in a cell with other public officers who have been convicted for various offences, including police and armed services personnel and not with those convicted for drugs offences. His family members could visit him once, monthly. Subject to the doctor's approval, he could be given a mattress for a period of three months only and later extended with doctor's recommendation. As for food, he could be given a special diet, such as a 'vegetable or diabetic' diet on doctor's recommendation only", Jayasinghe said. Jayasinghe added that S.B. Dissanayake's Prison's identity number is H21569. He wears the 'Jumper' full white, cotton shorts and short sleeved shirt. "He really likes to wear these clothes. I don't know why", he quipped. Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe after meeting Dissanayake, told newsmen at the prison gates that he met S.B. Dissanayake in prison and his morale was very high. He would stand by his principles. "Dissanayake said that he would stand by his principles and carry on with the agitation. I told him that we are agitating for his release, the protection of the democratic rights of our people and the powers and privileges of Parliament. Dissanayake would go on record as the first member of Parliament to be a 'political' prisoner", Wickremesinghe added. |
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