Prison massacres in Sri Lanka
Encyclopedia
Prison massacres in Sri Lanka have occurred in regular intervals since the inception of the civil conflict from 1983.
No one has been held accountable for these acts.
Notable prison massacres
- The first recorded incident was during the Black JulyBlack JulyBlack July is the commonly used name for the anti-Tamil pogrom and attacks carried out by mobs in Sri Lanka which began on July 23, 1983. The riots occurred following a deadly ambush by a Tamil militant organization known as Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam which killed 13 Sri Lanka Army soldiers...
pogromPogromA pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
of 1983, at the WelikadaWelikada prison massacreThe Welikada Prison Massacre took place during the 1983 Black July pogrom against Sri Lankan Tamil minority in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Fifty-three prisoners were killed inside a high-security prison. No one has been convicted of crimes relating to these incidents.- Crime scene :The prison is shaped as...
high security prison in which 53 minorityMinority groupA minority is a sociological group within a demographic. The demographic could be based on many factors from ethnicity, gender, wealth, power, etc. The term extends to numerous situations, and civilizations within history, despite the misnomer of minorities associated with a numerical statistic...
Tamil political detainees were hacked to death by their fellow SinhaleseSinhalese peopleThe Sinhalese are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group,forming the majority of Sri Lanka,constituting 74% of the Sri Lankan population.They number approximately 15 million worldwide.The Sinhalese identity is based on language, heritage and religion. The Sinhalese speak Sinhala, an Indo-Aryan language and the...
prisoners.
- The second incident happened in 2000 when 26 young minority Tamil detainees were massacred by SinhaleseSinhalese peopleThe Sinhalese are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group,forming the majority of Sri Lanka,constituting 74% of the Sri Lankan population.They number approximately 15 million worldwide.The Sinhalese identity is based on language, heritage and religion. The Sinhalese speak Sinhala, an Indo-Aryan language and the...
villages at the BindunuwewaBindunuwewa massacreThe Bindunuwewa Massacre or Bindunuwewa Prison Massacre took place on October 24, 2000 at a detention center of Bindunuwewa, Sri Lanka, resulting in the deaths of 26 minority Tamil political prisoners by a mob of majority Sinhalese.-Camp:...
low security detention center.
- There was also a prison massacre in which 3 minority Tamil detainees were massacred at the KalutaraKalutara prison massacreThe Kalutara Prison Riots occurred on December 12, 1997, at the high-security prison in Kalutara, Sri Lanka. Three minority Tamil political prisoners were killed by majority Sinhalese prisoners...
high security detention center.
No one has been held accountable for these acts.