The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was a Tamil militant organization that was based in northeastern Sri Lanka.
Folsom State Prison (FSP) is a California State Prison in Folsom, California, U.S., approximately 20 miles (32 km) northeast of the state capital of Sacramento. It is one of 34 adult institutions operated by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Yatala Labour Prison is a high-security men's prison located in the north-eastern part of the northern Adelaide suburb Northfield, South Australia. It was built in 1854 to enable prisoners to work at Dry Creek, quarrying rock for roads and construction. Originally known as The Stockade of Dry Creek or just The Stockade, it acquired its current name from a local Kaurna word relating to inundation by water, which was used for the Hundred of Yatala.
Fremantle Prison, sometimes referred to as Fremantle Gaol or Fremantle Jail, is a former Australian prison and World Heritage Site in Fremantle, Western Australia. The site includes the prison cellblocks, gatehouse, perimeter walls, cottages, and tunnels. It was initially used for convicts transported from Britain, but was transferred to the colonial government in 1886 for use for locally-sentenced prisoners. Royal Commissions were held in 1898 and 1911, and instigated some reform to the prison system, but significant changes did not begin until the 1960s. The government department in charge of the prison underwent several reorganisations in the 1970s and 1980s, but the culture of Fremantle Prison was resistant to change. Growing prisoner discontent culminated in a 1988 riot with guards taken hostage, and a fire that caused $1.8 million worth of damage. The prison closed in 1991, replaced by the new maximum-security Casuarina Prison.
Mount Eden Prisons consists of two separate facilities in the Auckland, New Zealand suburb of Mount Eden — the Mount Eden Prison and the Mount Eden Corrections Facility.
A prison riot is an act of concerted defiance or disorder by a group of prisoners against the prison administrators, prison officers, or other groups of prisoners.
Black July was an anti-Tamil pogrom that occurred in Sri Lanka during July 1983. The pogrom was premeditated, and was finally triggered by a deadly ambush on 23 July 1983, which caused the death of 13 Sri Lanka Army soldiers, by the Tamil militant group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Although initially orchestrated by members of the ruling UNP, the pogrom soon escalated into mass violence with significant public participation.
Kathiravelu Nythiananda Devananda, commonly known as Douglas Devananda, is a Sri Lankan Tamil politician, Cabinet Minister and leader of the Eelam People's Democratic Party. Originally a Sri Lanka Tamil militant who fought against the Sri Lankan government for an independent Tamil Eelam, he became a pro-government paramilitary leader and politician. Due to his strong opposition to and vocal criticism of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, they unsuccessfully tried to assassinate him over 10 times. Devananda is a proclaimed offender in India and is wanted on charges of murder, attempt to murder, rioting, unlawful assembly and kidnapping. He was sworn in as Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources on 22 November 2019.
The Department of Prisons is a department of the Government of Sri Lanka responsible for the incarceration and rehabilitation of convicted criminal offenders and terror suspects, coming under the purview of the Minister of Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs. The Commissioner-General of Prisons reports to the Subject Minister, who is in turn responsible to the Parliament of Sri Lanka.
Ragama is a suburb of Colombo, located in the Gampaha District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is governed by the Ja-Ela Pradeshiya Sabha.
Bogambara Prison was a maximum security prison and the second largest prison in the country after Welikada Prison in Colombo, Sri Lanka. After operating for 138 years, the prison was closed on 1 January 2014, and the inmates were transferred to the new Dumbara prison complex in Pallekele. In 2019, the government declared the prison site would become a cultural tourism centre, the Bogambara Cultural Park.
Nadarajah Thangavelu was a Sri Lankan Tamil rebel and one of the founders of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization, a separatist Tamil militant organisation in Sri Lanka.
Lohan Evindra Ratwatte is a Sri Lankan politician. He is the State Minister of gem and jewelry and a Member of Parliament from the Kandy District. He is the eldest son of General Anuruddha Ratwatte, former cabinet minister and deputy defense minister.
Fort Hammenhiel is a fort built around a small island between the islands of Kayts and Karaitivu of Jaffna Peninsula in Northern Sri Lanka.
The Welikada prison riot was a prison riot that occurred on 9 November 2012 at Welikada Prison in Sri Lanka. The riot broke out during a search for illegal arms. The riot left 27 people dead and 40 injured. The government has appointed a committee to investigate the riot. Welikada Prison, which has around 4,000 prisoners, has witnessed a number of violent riots in its history. This prison riot was the worst in Sri Lanka's history since the 1983 riot, also at Welikada Prison, which left 53 prisoners dead.
Events from the year 2012 in Sri Lanka.
This page lists notable events that took place during the year 2020 in Sri Lanka.
Mahara prison riot was an arson attack which took place between the prison inmates and police officials from 29 November 2020 to 30 November 2020 at the Mahara Prison in Sri Lanka at the outskirts of the capital city of Colombo in Mahara. As of 30 November 2020, 11 inmates were reportedly killed and about 117 inmates were severely injured during the prison riot. Police guards opened fire to control the arson attack and also in order to prevent a jail break. A fire also spread from the Mahara fire following gun shots, and most of the deceased inmates succumbed to gun shots. It was revealed that prison inmates set fire to the kitchens inside the prison facility and briefly took 2 wardens hostage. The riots occurred following the rumours and speculations regarding the transferring of COVID-19 infected prisoners to Mahara Prison from other crowded prisons. Initially the prison inmates staged unrest demanding the officials and authorities to increase the PCR testing following the surge in COVID-19 cases in Sri Lankan prisons. Prior to the riots, around 12 prisoners tested positive for COVID-19.
Roy Ratnavel is a Sri Lankan Tamil Canadian business executive and the author of the book Prisoner #1056.
