AKD asks President to reconsider Royal Park convict pardon

Tuesday, 12 November 2019 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Says move undermines judicial independence and rule of law
Requests AG and BASL to intervene

National People’s Power (NPP) candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayaka yesterday called on President Maithripala Sirisena to reconsider the pardon granted to Jude Shramantha Jayamaha, the convict in the Royal Park murder case and requested the Attorney General as well as the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) to intervene in the matter.

“With the stroke of a pen, the President has overturned a court ruling. This undermines the rule of law, judicial independence as well as the people’s faith in the Judiciary,” Dissanayaka said in a press statement.

He said that while this was not the first time that presidential pardons had been granted to politically-aligned individuals, such actions were symptomatic of how money and social status drive a corrupt and destructive system which makes a mockery of the constitutional guarantees of equality before the law.

“I condemn this arbitrary decision of the President and call on him to listen to the voices that have risen in protest from civil society and reconsider his decision,” Dissanayaka said.