A senior prison official said the only privilege received by death row inmate, Premalal Jayasekara who was sworn in as a Member of Parliament yesterday (08) is the ability to attend the sessions of Parliament and the relevant meetings and he will be re-incarcerated after those sessions.
The death row inmates in Sri Lanka have a separate suit, which is a shirt covering the upper body and a cloth covering the lower body. Premalal Jayasekara, who came under special protection to parliament to be sworn in Parliament yesterday, had changed into this dress following the session.
Prisoners on death row are sent to the less-equipped chapel ward cell. Only pillows and mats are allowed for sleeping. They are not allowed to bring food from outside either.
Although the Speaker had requested Jayasekara to attend Parliament, the Commissioner-General of Prisons had sought the advice of the Attorney General in this regard.
However, the Attorney General’s advice was that he could not be sworn in as a Member of Parliament under the Constitution.
However, Premalal Jayasekara, who has now filed an appeal against the sentence against him in the Court of Appeal, also obtained permission from the Court of Appeal to go to Parliament.
Following the order of the Court of Appeal, the prison authorities have arranged for him to attend Parliament sessions.
