Welikada prison massacre
Anti-Tamil pogroms in Sri Lanka |
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Gal Oya (1956) |
1958 pogrom |
1977 pogrom |
Black July (1983) |
The Welikada Prison Massacre took place during the 1983 Black July pogrom against Sri Lankan Tamil minority in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Fifty-three prisoners were killed inside a high-security prison. No one has been convicted of crimes relating to these incidents.[1]
Crime scene
The prison is shaped as a Cross-with four divisions- A, B, C and D. A3 B3 C3 and D3 were all on ground floor. B3, C3 and D3 all housed Tamil detainees and A3 had dangerous criminals who were almost all Sinhalese.
Incident
The incident occurred in two different series of actions: the first on 25 July 1983 when 35 Tamil prisoners were attacked and killed by Sinhalese inmates. The second massacre was two days later when Sinhalese inmates killed another 18 Tamil detainees and 3 prison deputies.[2]
Other prison massacres
See also
- Black July
- Ethnic problem in Sri Lanka
- State terrorism in Sri Lanka
- Welikada Prison
- Welikada prison riot (2012)