Former staff sergeant Sunil Ratnayake released on presidential pardon

By Darshana Sanjeewa Balasuriya  

Former staff sergeant of the Army, R.M. Sunil Ratnayake, who was sentenced to death over the murder of eight Tamil civilians in Mirusuvil, Jaffna in 2000, has been released on a special presidential pardon by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday. Commissioner General of Prisons Jayasiri Tennakoon said he was released from the Welikada Prison. Sunil Ratnayake was sentenced to death on June 25, 2015 by the Colombo High Court after a 13-year-trial. Five persons including Sunil Ratnayake were accused over the case, however four other accused Second Lieutenant R.W. Senaka Munasinghe, T.M. Jayaratne, S.A. Pushpa Saman Kumara and Gamini Munasinghe were not found guilty. They were acquitted and released 
from the case.