Release of Sigiriya girl delayed

12 April 2015 09:42 am

​The release of the girl, who was sentenced to two years imprisonment over allegedly damaging the Sigiriya Mirror Wall, would be delayed till Court cases of two appeals are cleared, Deputy Minister of Justice Sujeewa Senasinghe said today.

The two appeals had been filed by the People’s Movement for Good Governance (PMGG) organisation and Home for Human Rights (HHR) organisation against the verdict of Dambulla Magistrate Sanjeewa Ramyakumara on March 2.

“The date of her release cannot be predicted but when the Court affairs are completed, she will get the release as the result of the President’s pardon,” Mr. Senasinghe said.
At the moment, the girl is imprisoned at the Anuradhapura prison.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ajith P. Perera had earlier requested pardon for the girl from the President.

The woman, a resident of Batticaloa, had visited Sigiriya along with some friends and scribbled her name on the Mirror Wall using a hairpin.

Prof. Senerat Paranavitana, an eminent Sri Lankan archaeologist, had deciphered 685 verses written on this wall in the 8th, 9th and 10th centuries. Further writing on the Mirror Wall now has been banned for the protection of old writings of the wall. (Piyumi Fonseka)