Colombo, Jan 13 (PTI) A top Sri Lankan court here has sentenced to death a former prisons commissioner over the Welikada Prison riot in 2012 which killed at least 27 inmates.

The Colombo High Court trial on Wednesday found the former superintendent Emil Ranjan Lamahewa guilty and passed the death sentence.

Also Read | Twitter Ban Ends in Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari Govt Lifts Suspension After 7-Month.

The first defendant in the case, the then Inspector of the Police Narcotics Bureau, Neomal Rangajeewa was acquitted from all charges.

The case was heard for nearly three years before a three-member bench.

Also Read | India, UK To Kick-Off Negotiations for Free Trade Agreement Today.

Lamahewa and Rangajeewa were arrested in March 2018. The defendants were charged with 33 counts, including the killing of eight inmates selected by the defendants in the industrial area of the prison, the conspiracy to murder and illegally assembling a mass of people while the conflict was being suppressed.

On November 9, 2012, at least 27 inmates were killed while more than 20 others were injured when prisoners rioted in the overcrowded jail objecting to an unannounced search by the police's Special Task Force to nab contraband and mobile phones at the prison.

Rights groups led a sustained campaign for justice to the victims which had drawn international attention too.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)