Prisoners’ rights group to legally challenge Presidential pardon

• CPRP says arbitrarily granting Presidential pardons undermines Judiciary as well as people’s faith in judicial system
• Questions the criteria followed by President to pardon ex- army sergeant Sunil Ratnayake
• Says Article 34 (1) has no place in statute books as its been misused by successive presidents

The Committee for Protecting Rights of Prisoners (CPRP) yesterday said it would challenge the President’s decision to release a convicted murderer by way of a Presidential pardon in the Supreme Court and said such actions called into question the manner in which 34 (1) of the Constitution was being used by an individual arbitrarily without proper review.

CPRP Chairman Attorney-at- Law Senaka Perera said the ad hoc manner in which Presidential pardons were granted in the country without any form of transparency undermined the Judiciary as well as people’s faith in the judicial system.

Former Army Sergeant Sunil Ratnayake, who was sentenced to death for the murder of eight Tamil Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in December 2000, was granted a Presidential pardon on Thursday.

“We want to know from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on what grounds he pardoned Sunil Ratnayake. His death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court and there has been no miscarriage of justice in this case and hence there are no grounds for a pardon. We have been seeking Presidential pardons for many prisoners who have committed less serious crimes and have been languishing in jail for years, some old and ailing, but they have been ignored,” he said.

Perera said a Presidential pardon could only be granted under Article 34(1) of the Constitution after calling for a report from the trial judge, on the advice of the Attorney General (AG) and on the recommendation of the Minister of Justice and these should be made public so that there was transparency in the process.

“We have had all the Executive Presidents in this country misusing their Presidential powers of pardon granted by the Constitution. This Article must be removed from the Constitution and the power to pardon must be given to a review board of eminent persons,” he said.

Meanwhile the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has condemned the President’s action, calling it “opportunistic” and done under the guise of dealing with issues concerning prisoners at a time like this.

International human rights organisation Amnesty International (AI) also said the Government’s arbitrary decision to release Sergeant Sunil Ratnayake who was sentenced to death for the murder of eight Tamil IDPs sent an extremely worrying message.

The Presidential pardon granted to Royal Park murder case convict Jude Shramantha Jayamaha by former President Maithripala Sirisena last November was also widely condemned and a case was filed in the Supreme Court challenging its validity.

In the Fundamental Rights petition filed by Women and Media Collective, a women’s rights group, the Petitioners are seeking a suspension of the Presidential pardon granted to Jayamaha as well as an order to issue guidelines governing the grant of Presidential pardon by the Head of State in terms of Article 34 (1) of the Constitution.

The case has been fixed for consideration for 29 May by the Supreme Court.