Eligible prison inmates across Sri Lanka have not been granted the customary amnesty on Christmas Day in the first-ever such instance in the country’s history this year due to delays in providing additional information related to the inmate list submitted to the Ministry of Justice, according to Prisons Spokesperson and Commissioner Jagath Weerasinghe.
Responding to an inquiry by The Sunday Morning on why the traditional pardon had not been granted, Weerasinghe said the request for additional information stemmed directly from an earlier presidential pardon controversy.
The controversy in question arose after a convicted inmate who was released from the Anuradhapura Prison under the Vesak presidential pardon was found not to have been included in the approved list.
Speaking to The Sunday Morning, he explained that the Ministry of Justice had sought further details following the controversy.
“The Prisons Department submitted the list of inmates recommended for release this Christmas. Subsequently, the Ministry of Justice requested additional information and reports regarding the names included. Delays in this process resulted in the customary pardon not being granted this Christmas,” he said.
“However, this issue will be resolved in a few days and similar situations will not arise in the future. Customary pardons will continue as usual.”
Although the customary amnesty was not granted this year, family members and relatives of inmates were allowed visitations on Christmas Day and were allowed to exchange gifts and treats.
Following the controversy linked to the Anuradhapura Prison, a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) probe was launched, which revealed that 69 inmates who had not received official approval had been released under presidential pardons in December 2024.
According to the CID, 57 inmates were released from 29 prisons on 25 December last year, while a further 11 inmates were released from 28 prisons on 4 February this year, without official clearance. These releases were made in connection with Christmas and Independence Day celebrations.
The Anuradhapura incident led to the removal of Prisons Commissioner General Thushara Upuldeniya, who was later arrested over the release of the inmate and subsequently suspended.