Sri Lankan prison minister resigns over prisoner threats

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI
Associated Press

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A Sri Lankan Cabinet minister in charge of prisons has resigned following a public outcry after he allegedly threatened to kill two ethnic minority prisoners. Lohan Ratwatte, state minister of Prison Management and Prisoners’ Rehabilitation, was accused of entering a prison in Anuradhapura north of  Colombo on Sunday and threatening to kill two Tamil prisoners. He was also accused of forcibly entering another prison in Colombo with his friends. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s office says Ratwatte tendered his resignation to the president on Wednesday and acknowledged his responsibility for both incidents. It says Rajapaksa accepted his resignation.