11 November 2019 08:08 pm
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) today condemned the release of Royal Park murder convict Jude Shramantha Jayamaha by President Maithripala Sirisena claiming it was a disgrace to the country.
JVP MP Bimal Ratnayake told Parliament that the move taken by the President to release the convict was a huge blow to Sri Lanka’s rule of law and that the country would be isolated internationally due to this decision.
“The President should reveal the reason to release the murder convict. We doubt if it was done due to financial grants by the convict’s party. The President should reveal whether the convict was a relative of his or if it was a request of opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa,” he said.
He said it was humiliating that the President who claimed to reintroduce death sentence was releasing a murder convict in this manner. “The suspect was convicted with the murder of a Swedish national through a due legal procedure,” he said.(Ajith Siriwardana)