Former Opposition parliamentarian Ranjan Ramanayake is currently in the President’s waiting list for presidential pardons. Ramanayake is serving a four-year rigorous imprisonment term for making defamatory comments against the Judiciary. However, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa as well as artistes have requested the President to grant Ramanayake a presidential pardon. Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga too requested for a presidential pardon for the MP in a letter addressed to the President on Friday (10). The letter stated that Ramanayake had been sentenced to four years’ imprisonment for contempt of court, whereas many other convicts of various crimes are set free by the Government.

Source: The Nation September 11, 2021 19:18 UTC