President frees 762 prisoners to mark Vesak

18 May, 2019

President Maithripala Sirisena today released 762 prisoners under a Presidential pardon to mark Vesak.

An event was held at the Welikada prison to free the inmates with the participation of the President.

Justice Minister Thalatha Atukorale said that the President used the powers vested in him to grant pardon to the 762 prisoners.

Among the prisoners freed are 736 males and 26 females, the Justice Ministry said.

The Justice Ministry said that 117 prisoners at the Welikada prison, 62 in Palakale and 50 inmates of the Anuradhapura prison are among those freed today.

All those freed were in jail for minor offenses and did not include convicts jailed for rape, child abuse or heroin use and drug trafficking.

Recommended For You

Education Ministry files complaint against fake news

The?Education Ministry has filed a complaint against a fake news item appearing on social media. The Education Ministry said that a false news item had been circulating on social media claiming that the salaries of state school teachers during the school vacation will not be paid. A complaint was filed with the?Criminal Investigations Department (CID) saying the news item was false. The Education Ministry urged the CID to investigate and find who was behind publishing the news item and take a

16 Aug, 2018

Sri Lanka and Oman seek to cooperate on oil and gas

Sri Lanka and Oman are seeking to?cooperate on fisheries, sports, oil and gas in the future. During the Second Meeting of the Sri Lanka-Oman Bilateral Consultations, held in Colombo at senior officials’ level, an Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Sultanate of Oman was signed by the leaders of the respective delegations. The Sri Lanka delegation to the Bilateral Consultations was led by Secretary to the Ministr

16 Aug, 2018

Navy Sampath remanded till August 29 over abductions

Chandana Hettiaracchi aka Navy Sampath, was today ordered to be remanded till August 29th by the Fort Magistrate. He was arrested by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) yesterday over the abduction of 11 youth in Colombo in 2008. A warrant had been issued earlier by the Colombo Fort Magistrate?s Court for the arrest of?Navy Sampath. Court approval was obtained yesterday to detain?Navy Sampath till today to be questioned. (Colombo Gazette)

15 Aug, 2018

Colombo Gazette is a leading news and entertainment website, covering stories related to Sri Lanka. The content consists of text based news, photos and videos and is linked to social media websites including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, to provide a wider coverage for its stories.