16 ex-LTTE cadres get Presidential pardon

• The LTTE suspects had been detained in  the Anuradhapura and Jaffna Prisons

By Darshana Sanjeewa Balasuriya  

A total of 93 prisoners including 16 LTTE cadres have been released after being pardoned by the President on the occasion of the Poson Poya.  

Prisons Spokesman Chandana Ekanayake said the LTTE suspects had been detained in  the Anuradhapura and Jaffna Prisons.  

In addition, 77 other inmates jailed for minor offences too were released.  The former LTTE cadres had been arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and some of them had been detained for about 15 years.  The UN Human Rights Council last week urged the government to either charge or release those detained under the PTA, including the Human Rights activists who were recently arrested.