Drug addicts to be kept under house arrest

• The Rehabilitation Act would be amended to enable drug addicts to be rehabilitated without a court order

By Shane Seneviratne   

State Minister of Justice and Prisons Anuradha Jayaratne said drug addicts would be placed under house arrest and rehabilitated by probation officers. He told the media yesterday during an inspection tour in Pallekele outdoor prison camp that 65 percent of the prisoners were drug addicts it is not possible to rehabilitate them in prisons.  

He said an effective mechanism would be implemented to rehabilitate them subject to the punishment imposed by court.   
The state minister pointed out that the Rehabilitation Act would be amended to enable the drug addicts to be rehabilitated without a court order. It would include voluntary rehabilitation on payment of fees. He said he was planning to establish a rehabilitation centre in Gampola. 

“ The proposed scheme has been referred to the legal draftsman and it would be subject to the recommendation of the Judicial service commission. A committee has been appointed by the Minister of Justice which is expected to submit its report in a fortnight” He said.  

Replying to a query from the media regarding the ongoing campaign of student movements and trade unions he said it was the government’s responsibility to suppress any movement attempting to cripple the country’s economy. He further said that organised groups under the pretext of student movements and trade union movements were attempting to cripple economic nerve centres and they should be considered as terrorist movements.     

•  Organised groups under the pretext of student movements and trade union movements were attempting to cripple economic nerve centres