Executive Summary Overview The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka initiated the Study of Prisons in Sri Lanka in response to the absence of information in the public domain about, as well as lack of public discourse on the prisons system, and conditions and treatment of prisoners. The study was conducted in twenty prisons around the country. The methodology of the study consisted of inspections of prisons, administering questionnaires and conducting interviews with prisoners. Interviews were also conducted with prison officers from each prison as well as external stakeholders involved in the criminal justice and correctional process, including state actors from all relevant ministries. Based on the information gathered, the conditions of prisons and treatment of prisoners were evaluated within the fundamental human rights standards outlined in the Constitution of Sri Lanka and the domestic legal framework regulating the administration of prisons, as well as relevant international human rights obligations of the state. The study revealed that the treatment and detention conditions of prisoners fall far below the threshold of basic living standards. The provision of services to which prisoners are entitled, including access to healthcare and opportunities for rehabilitation, are poor because the level of occupancy of the prisons is manifold its capacity. Due to the severe shortage of staff prison officers are overworked and experience job dissatisfaction and mental distress. The inadequate remuneration that is not commensurate with the difficult and even dangerous conditions of their work environment exacerbates the challenges they face discharging their functions effectively. Thus, prisons were found to be overcrowded and dysfunctional, where the risk of breeding criminality, corruption and recidivism was high as the opportunities for rehabilitation were minimal. Hence, there is the absence of conditions conducive to the effective social re-integration of reformed prisoners. In this context, the Commission observed that certain categories of prisoners are more vulnerable than others, such as prisoners on death row, women, young offenders, foreign nationals, prisoners detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and prisoners with disabilities. The specific challenges that they face must be considered in policymaking in order to ensure they have equal and equitable access to a chance for reform. Qualitative information gathered during interviews with prisoners overwhelmingly suggested that the majority of prisoners are from a lower socio-economic background, as illustrated by details they revealed of their personal circumstances, including their inability to retain the services of a legal representative due to the lack of financial resources. Prisoners often cited their lack of financial stability and poverty as reasons they initially became involved in criminal activities. Poverty was a factor that intersected across all age, ethnic and religious groups of prisoners. Male prisoners, in particular, stated that, as they were the primary income earners in their family, they were unable to provide for their families during iii