Presidential pardons for prisoners for five years under probe

Prison records on release of convicts on presidential pardons for the last five years is to be probed, a Cabinet minister said.

Accordingly, detectives from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) probing the release of prison inmates under the guise of presidential pardons will conduct a thorough review into the release of prison inmates under presidential pardons and other amnesties going back four to five years, Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala said.

The CID this week inspected the record rooms of all 28 prisons and obtained details of prison inmates. 

Minister Wijepala disclosed that based on their inquiries, investigators have found that 37 inmates who had actually received a presidential pardon had not been released, while one inmate had been wrongfully released. 

The fact that 37 inmates who should have been released are still in the prison system has led to suspicion that they had been held back in prison to release others in their place, the minister opined.  

“It is the Prisons Department which draws up the lists containing names of prisoners recommended for presidential pardons. It seems that rather than release every prisoner in the list they submit, the Prisons Department is releasing other inmates claiming they had been pardoned. This seems a clear case of abusing the responsibilities vested with the Prisons Department,” Minister Wijepala claimed.

The minister revealed that 23 mobile phones were recently recovered from the possession of one prison inmate. “How can so many mobile phones be in the possession of one inmate without the knowledge of prison authorities?” he queried.   He added the government will take stern action against any officials found to have engaged in wrongdoing.