LNP – ’’No beds, no rights’’: UK woman held over £1.2m Kush haul cries foul in Sri Lanka jail
Sri Lanka’s Prisons Department yesterday has denied claims of mistreatment made by a British woman who was remanded on drug charges, insisting she is being treated in accordance with prison regulations and is not entitled to any special privileges.
The 21-year-old British national, Charlotte May Lee was arrested at Bandaranaike International Airport last week after Customs officers allegedly found 46 kilograms of ‘Kush’ – a potent strain of cannabis – in her luggage. The narcotics, with an estimated street value of £1.2 million, were described by Sri Lankan authorities as the largest cannabis haul intercepted at the airport.
Lee has denied knowledge of the drugs, claiming she was set up and had left her packed bags unattended in a Bangkok hotel prior to flying to Sri Lanka. She is currently facing charges of drug possession and importation, and if convicted, could face a sentence of 20 to 25 years.
Prisons Spokesman Gamini Dissanayake said that the British woman, currently remanded at Negombo Prison, has been provided with facilities permitted under prison regulations.
Lee, a former cabin crew worker, had arrived in Sri Lanka on a flight from Bangkok when she was arrested at Bandaranaike Airport and taken to custody last Monday.
Speaking to UK Daily Mail from behind bars in the woman’s ward of the prison, Lee said she had ‘no idea’ that there were drugs in her luggage when she set off for Sri Lanka.
After her arrest, Lee was initially held at the Police Narcotics Bureau for seven days.
She says she was forced to sleep on a sofa that had bed bugs with a security guard watching her the whole time.
Then on Sunday she was brought to Negombo Magistrate’s Court where she was remanded in custody for a further 14 days while she awaits further hearings.
Speaking to Daily Mail, she alleged that she been stuck in her crowded cell for 22 hours a day and only let out to eat and briefly stretch her legs.
And it was here that she spoke to Mail Online yesterday to highlight the ‘awful’ conditions i in the prison – revealing she has not eaten any food at all for two days because the prison meals have been making her ill. She said “I am trying my best to stay positive because what else can you do.”
“But it is hard. I feel as though I have no human rights here. There are no beds, no blankets. And where you sleep is like a long corridor with lots of other women.”
“I am sleeping on a concrete floor – literally. All I have is my jumper as a pillow.”
“There is a ceiling fan but it doesn’t really work and there’s a TV but that also barely works. I only have this one pair of clothes, nothing else to change into and I’m not being allowed my medication for ADHD.”
“The only thing they give are sleeping tablets that properly knock you out.”
“The shower is not really a shower, it’s just a bucket that you pour over yourself but they don’t give you anything for that.”
“They put you in an alleyway with a bunch of other women, that’s it.”
“You are only allowed two or three hours outside in the sun a day, occasionally longer if there are a lot of women in court that day.”
“I’ve not eaten in two days because the food is just too spicy for me.”
“I have told my lawyers – I have three of them – that I need different food. They said they would sort that but they still haven’t. I don’t know why.”
“Fortunately, some of the girls speak English and have shared biscuits and things like that with me, which is nice.”
“All the other British people being held here are men, so I don’t get to see them.”
“There is no communication. You are told nothing. I couldn’t arrange an e-visit with my family or even write a letter,” the Dialy Mail reported.
When Daily Mirror contacted the Prisons Spokesman about the matter, he said “She can receive food from outside if someone brings it for her. But we cannot give her any special facilities beyond what is allowed.”
He said that Negombo Prison has only one facility for female detainees, where several other foreign female inmates are also being held. “If she has any concerns, she is free to contact the Human Rights Commission, the Prisons Monitoring Committee, or any other relevant oversight body,” he said.
“We cannot provide special treatment based on nationality,” the spokesman said. He also that that representatives from the British High Commission are permitted to visit her if necessary.
Meanwhile, the Daily Mail reported that the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has confirmed it is providing consular support to Lee and is in contact with her family and Sri Lankan authorities.