them. However, while remandees have access to a judge since they attend court, since judges do not generally undertake regular visits to prisons, convicted prisoners who no longer go to court would be able to access the judge only if they undertake prison visits. Although prisoners would wish to complain to the Commission about a range of grievances, they may not always have the means to do so confidentially since officers would vet letters sent to the Commission by prisoners. Further, except for prisoners at Welikada Prison, prisoners do not have the means to call the Commission’s hotline and since phone conversations at Welikada Prison are also monitored, complaints cannot be lodged confidentially. 8. Inmate-officer Relationships The Commission observed that an officer’s treatment of an inmate is often determined by the prisoner’s social standing, race, religion and the offence for which they have been convicted or been accused of committing. Most prison officers do not treat inmates with the respect and dignity to which they are entitled as human beings, and complaints against verbal abuse by officers were ubiquitous. Superintendents of certain prisons admitted that officers do use abusive language towards inmates, which is an issue that needs to be addressed. Many Superintendents stated they have reportedly issued explicit instructions to prison officers to desist from using abusive language in their interactions with prisoners. The power dynamic between officers and inmates was manifest in their interactions, and prisoners were sometimes observed giving foot massages to, and polishing shoes of the officers. While remandees face the brunt of the ill-treatment, condemned and long-term convicted prisoners are treated better by prison officers since they have become more acquainted with them over time. Prison officers may even be apprehensive of upsetting the prisoners on death row who, due to their unbounded sentence and difficult conditions of imprisonment, have ‘nothing to lose’ and therefore cannot be effectively deterred from disrupting order in prison with the threat of further sanctions. Prisoners of a higher social standing, however, are treated with respect and are even able to access special facilities and privileges not available to other inmates. The ability of such prisoners to access privileges points to the existence of a certain degree of corruption in the prison system, with officers reportedly accepting bribes from prisoners in return for various benefits and favours. Prisoners also informed the Commission that discrimination based on race and religion is present among inmates, and Tamil prisoners and foreign nationals complained most about inter-inmate prejudice. Ward leaders for each ward are conferred a considerable amount of power by prison officers to monitor and discipline their ward mates, and hence also enjoy a better relationship with prison officers, especially because they often provide information about the activities of xi