COLOMBO, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lankan government has decided to convert buildings of two state institutions into prisons to address over-crowdedness issues, a minister said on Friday.
Minister of Justice, Prisons Affairs and Constitutional Reforms Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said that prisons have 300 percent overcapacity.
Buildings in Hendala Leprosy Hospital and a now-unused hospital in Batticaloa will be used to accommodate prisoners, Rajapakshe said.
Discussions with the health ministry, which currently owns these buildings, have concluded, he said.
Sri Lankan prisons are capable of holding about 11,700 prisoners, and there were 32,735 prisoners in the system till this month, Commissioner General of Prisons Thushara Upuldeniya said earlier. ■
