This research study is part of a multi-country project titled “Abolitionist Approaches to Critical Geographical Research” which was a recipient of 2022 Institute of Human Geography Research Grant.

The research study is a two-part analysis of regimes of policing in Sri Lanka, in relation to political protests and prison riots. In 2022, mass people’s protests demanded the resignation of the government, in face of a crippling national economic crisis. The state’s response to the people’s protests included heavy-handed mobilisation of law enforcement and security forces. 

In contrast to state violence against the people’s protests in 2022, prisons and carceral systems in Sri Lanka receive minimal public attention. A prison study by the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka notes that the correctional system in Sri Lanka features in public discourse only when a riot or similar incidents of violence have taken place. 

Expected outcomes of the country study on “Political Protests and Prison Riots in Sri Lanka”:

• A review on the history of protests and prison riots in Sri Lanka, and key debates and discussions on the issue and on an abolitionist approach to carceral politics.
• Analysis of how an abolitionist approach to carceral politics is relevant to tackling the systemic issues underlying and manifesting through the state’s response to protests and prison riots; and what insights can be drawn from the study for broader questions of state violence and surveillance, state racism, the role of media and public opinion, in relation to the carceral landscape in Sri Lanka.

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