During the trial process too, PTA prisoners reported facing numerous challenges to the full enjoyment of their right to a fair trial, including long delays and the inability to understand the language of court proceedings. 16. Young Offenders The Commission found young offenders above the age of fifteen being held in adult prisons, which is contrary to international standards which class persons under the age of eighteen as children. They cannot, therefore, be housed with persons above the age of eighteen and in adult facilities. Convicted young offenders and persons up to the age of twenty-two can be held at the Wataraka Training School, where they are not considered to be convicted prisoners, but rather required to undergo “training” for up to three years as a part of rehabilitation to counter antisocial behaviour. The Wataraka Training School is found inside the Homagama Work Camp for adult offenders, although young offenders are completely sectioned off from adults. Convicted prisoners between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two are also found in closed prisons and open camps, as the judge has the discretion to sentence an offender to ‘training’ in Wataraka, or to serve a prison sentence at a closed prison or work camp. The Wataraka Training school has a lack of officers specializing in behavioural issues and youth guidance counsellors to encourage rehabilitation and reformation of young people. Instead, young offenders are subject to violence as a means of discipline and punishment. Due to the difficult relationship of inmates and officers, young offenders are reluctant to report any grievances or concerns for fear of being subjected to further violence. Despite the requirement for young offenders in Wataraka not to be treated as convicted prisoners, they are housed in cells, with multiple inmates in a single cell, required to use a plastic bucket to relieve themselves at night time. They are allowed to remain outdoors for a limited period of time, a few times a week, and not at all on Sundays, which restricts their physical and mental development. Such conditions limit the supposed aims of the Training School and may in fact have the opposite effect on the psychosocial development of the young offender. Wataraka Training School contains the Suneetha School where young offenders are able to complete their secondary education, from Grade 9 up to Advanced Level. It was pointed out by the Superintendent of Wataraka that, due to the impoverished background of many young offenders, they may not possess the standard of education required to complete Grade 9. The minimal options for vocational training opportunities also deprives them from learning employable skills upon release. Young offenders informed the Commission however, that attending school was the only semblance of normalcy in their lives, and the separation from their families was a reported cause of anguish to them, from which school days provided temporary relief. The Commission was informed of the behavioural and psychological issues with which young offenders were dealing, that were exacerbated by the conditions of Wataraka. For instance, it was stated to the Commission that many young offenders engage in self-harm xxiii