BY Buddhika SamaraweeraThe Prisons Department has taken steps to refer the incident where Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Opposition Parliamentarian Rishad Bathiudeen has allegedly made a death threat to a prison hospital doctor on 15 August, to a prison tribunal which will be headed by a magistrate. “A preliminary investigation was carried out under an Assistant Superintendent of Prisons into the allegations of insulting a doctor, making death threats and the obstruction of duty inside the Welikada Magazine Prison. According to the report of that investigation, in accordance with the provisions of the Prisons Ordinance, it was decided to refer the relevant case to a prison tribunal,” he added. Ekanayaka further said that a person who has committed an offence in prison can be brought before a prison tribunal of which the legal proceedings would be conducted by a magistrate. Accordingly, this case is to be referred to such a tribunal to conduct an independent inquiry and to take an independent decision, he noted.

Source: The Nation August 25, 2021 17:37 UTC