Sri Lanka pardons 2,000 prisoners to mark World Prisoner's Day

Over 2,000 prisoners were released in Sri Lanka on Thursday to mark World Prisoner's Day, an official said here, assuring that the offenders were incarcerated for minor offenses.

A Prisons Department spokesman told media that over 2,000 prisoners who were serving sentences for minor crimes and prisoners aged 70 and above had been granted a president's pardon.

"Most of these people are in poor health and simply want to spend the time they have with their loved ones. Therefore we decided to release them. No offenders for serious crimes such as rape or murder have been released as part of this pardon," Prison' s Department official K. Perera said.

Overcrowding is a severe problem in Sri Lanka's prisons and most inmates have no access to basic healthcare.

Sri Lanka's Commissioner General of Prisons Chandraratna Pallegama told media earlier this month that at present, 27 prisons house 27,000 prisoners, including those awaiting or unable to meet bail conditions.

Half the inmates are waiting until their cases are heard in the country's overloaded court system.

It is estimated that among some 25,000 offenders entering the prison system annually, 43 percent are repeat offenders.