Sad list of forgotten suspects behind bars

Among the 126 “no-dates” cases languishing in prisons is case No. NS 168 at the Kaduwela Magistrate's Court where, although police have forwarded the Information Book (IB) to the Attorney-General’s office the accused has been in remand prison for the past 10 years (since September 2006) with the Attorney-General still to make a decision on processing the case, the Legal Aid Commission (LAC) said.

In another non- summary case (No. 2924 at Walasmulla Magistrate’s Court) the accused has been in remand since 1994, for 12 years. There is no clue about the whereabouts of his file. The LAC is trying to trace it. The police have not forwarded the IB extract to the Attorney- General’s office.

In case No. 28158 at the Udugama Magistrate’s Court the suspect, who was arrested for murder in 2006, is still in remand. The LAC has requested details from the Attorney-General and has also written to the Magistrate’s Court and to the police to find out the exact position of the charge.

In case No.98305 at the Mahiyangana Magistrate’s Court the subject was arrested in 2008 and is still in Badulla remand.

LAC senior member U.R. de Silva said that there were several cases from 2010 involving people arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, Emergency Regulations, and for the possession of narcotics.

The Penal Code requires that a maximum period a suspect could be kept in remand prison is two years, after which s/he should be released. The LAC said about 1,195 people are in jails for small offences and cannot pay fines.

“These people are unnecessarily in remand. The crowding in prisons can be solved easily. Stringent bail orders should be relaxed and non- summary cases heard quickly,” Mr. de Silva said.

Most importantly, judges had to be educated in the law and their attitude changed. “The bail is in the law and there is a provision for bail order,” he said. said. According to the Penal Code Act (PCA) a magistrate court can give a sentence not exceeding four years. “But we find them announcing over 10, 12 sometimes up to 30 years. This is illegal,” Mr. Thiranagama said.

He said judges and the lawyers were aware of this but were ignoring the issue. Consequently, prisoners stayed in prisons without Legal Aid for months, if not for years. “This has been happening for the last 35 years, since 1981, resulting in crowding of prisons,” he said.

The Judicial Services Commission (JSC) rejected these claims. The commission’s Secretary, Pradeep Jayatilake, said suspects were charged according to varying statutes of the Penal Code and if there were any complaints the JSC would take them up.

The Lawyers for Human Rights and Development has taken up the cases of 25 prisoners and is contesting their sentences before the Court of Appeal. The prisoners have been picked from the Bogambara, Kalutara and Ratnapura prisons.

Mr. Tiranagama also pointed out that prisoners have to spend long sentences in prisons when they have multiple offences and judges omit to state their sentences should run concurrently. Consequently, the Prisons Department added up the sentences and incarcerated the prisoner for the term of consecutive sentences.

Prisons Commissioner-General H.M.N.C. Danasinghe said in instances where a prisoner has convictions on multiple counts the file is sent to the magistrate