the person to bend, strike different poses and flashing a torch into the rectum. According to the officers in KRP, body and cavity searches of prisoners are done only when there is a reasonable suspicion the prisoner is carrying contraband. However, what constitutes reasonable suspicion was not specified and strip searches are mainly carried out on ‘preidentified inmates who are known to bring contraband.’ There have been many complaints from the inmates in KRP regarding strip and body cavity searches due to the degrading ways adopted in conducting such searches. For instance, a convicted male prisoner in KRP mentioned to the Commission that: “In those searches, they make us remove all clothes we are wearing. We normally wear clothes to cover our naked self. So, what happens normally is an illegal act not even according to DS or anything, but in general an illegal and inhuman act. They insert things such as pens and pencils in our anus.” Contrary to what was mentioned by prisoners, when the Commission queried about body cavity searches during the meeting held at the Commission, the SP of KRP stated that he does not allow officers to do body cavity searches as it is not their job and that if a body cavity search is required, the inmate will be sent to the doctor. A similar response was given by a prison guard in CRP, who stated that they will first search a suspicious prisoner through the body scanner and if such person refuses to surrender the hidden goods, a body cavity search will be done by a doctor. However, the Commission did not observe qualified medical professionals conducting body cavity searches at these prisons, nor did prisoners mention it. It was also mentioned to the Commission by the officers who were on duty at the scan room in MCP, that suspected prisoners will be kept under the watch of prisoners in the special ward. Prisoners in the special ward are allowed limited outside time and spend most of the day in their wards, which are kept locked during the day, and hence are tasked with keeping watch over prisoners suspected of hiding contraband until they pass the contraband out of the body. Officers further stated that body cavity searches will not be conducted without the consent of the suspect. A similar situation was observed in NMRP where the officers stated that the doctor would not conduct any body cavity search without the consent of the prisoner and that the prisoner will be held until he passes the contraband, if any. The officers at NMRP further stated that there have been times where the prisoners had to be given laxatives for this purpose. The SP of KRP Ajith Basnayake stated to the Commission during a meeting held at the Commission52, that in order to avoid the incidence of human rights violations during searches and to carry out efficient searches, it is important to introduce sophisticated technology, including body scanners and parcel scanners. He further stated that it is not possible to change the existing methods of conducting body searches without equipping prisons with innovative means of conducting body searches. 52 Meeting with Ajith Basnayake, Superintendent, Kuruwita Remand Prison (Human Rights Commission, Sri Lanka, 2 July 2018) 53