Soldier sentenced to death over Mirusuvil massacre likely to be pardoned

06 Mar, 2020

A soldier sentenced to death in June 2015 for the murder of eight Tamil civilians in 2000 in Mirusuvil, is expected to be pardoned, at least two local newspapers reported today.

Former Army Staff sergeant Sunil Ratnayake is expected to be granted a Presidential pardon by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the pro-Rajapaksa Aruna newspaper reported.

The killing of eight Tamil civilians was termed as the ‘Mirusuvil massacre’ after it was reported that the civilians were killed by troops during the war.

The Colombo High Court sentenced the soldier to death after he was found guilty over the murders. Four others were acquitted over the case.

The High Court found the first accused, former Staff Sergeant R.M. Sunil Ratnayake of the army Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) guilty of 17 counts including unlawful assembly with common intention to cause injury and murder of eight persons. (Colombo Gazette)

Recommended For You

Justice Ministry to investigate leaked telephone conversation

The Ministry of Justice says it will be launching an investigation into a leaked telephone conversation said to involve former Director General of the Bribery Commission and now Solicitor General Dilrukshi Dias Wickremasinghe and Avant-Garde Chairman Nissanka Senadhipathi. Justice Minister Thalatha Athukorala said that the Ministry will need to first verify the authenticity of the telephone recording. She said that only once the authenticity is verified will they be able to take the next step.

20 Sep, 2019

Dilrukshi drops a bomb, says Minister involved

Solicitor General and former Director General of the Bribery Commission Dilrukshi Dias Wickremasinghe today claimed that a Minister was involved in establishing contact between her and Avant-Garde Chairman Nissanka Senadhipathi. In a leaked recording of a telephone conversation released yesterday Wickremasinghe is heard expressing regret over the action taken on Avant-Garde. She said that had she known several people will lose their jobs she would not have taken legal action. The female voice

21 Sep, 2019

Sajith’s camp rejects PM’s bid to abolish Executive Presidency before polls

Several United National Party Ministers today rejected a proposal by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to abolish the Executive Presidency before the upcoming Presidential elections. A special cabinet meeting was convened today to discuss abolishing the Executive Presidency. However, UNP Deputy Leader and Presidential hopeful Sajith Premadasa said that he and several others rejected the move. He said that it was unethical to propose abolishing the Executive Presidency when Presidential elec

19 Sep, 2019

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.