Inmates charged with drug offences should be rehabilitated: President

COLOMBO (News 1st): President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday (Dec. 10) instructed officials to attend to the needs of prison inmates in a compassionate manner and immediately provide the necessary facilities and resolve the shortcomings. A Presidential Task Force should be established in this regard to resolve the issues, the President told officials during a special meeting held at the President's Office on Thursday morning (Dec. 10). While emphasizing that there are more than 12,000 people imprisoned for drug addiction, the Head of State pointed out the need to pay special attention to these inmates and prepare a rehabilitation programme. President Rajapaksa had instructed officials to explore the possibility of building precast or pre-arranged prisons at locations already identified, to resolve the congestion at prison complexes, according to the President's Media Division.