Sri Lanka, Oct. 22 -- Claiming that a total of 1,454 prisoners are currently behind bars in Sri Lanka due to their inability to pay fines, Minister of Justice and National Integration Harshana Nanayakkara said yesterday that the government is willing to accept offers from government and non-governmental organisations to pay the fines of eligible prisoners and secure their release.

Responding to a question raised by MP Rohitha Abeygunawardena, the Minister told Parliament that several organisations and institutions were already implementing programmes to settle fines on behalf of selected prisoners and said government and non-governmental organisations could pay the fines of eligible prisoners to secure their release.

He said the Prison...