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Duminda Silva pardoned, decision widely condemned

25 Jun 2021

 

  • Victim’s family, Opposition, US, BASL slam move

  • ‘Sun will not shine on a country that doesn’t respect justice’: Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra’s widow

  • BASL writes to President

  • SJB urges reversal

  • Rule of law undermined: US Embassy

  By Dinitha Rathnayake   President Gotabaya Rajapaksa granted a presidential pardon to former parliamentarian Duminda Silva yesterday (24), leading to an avalanche of criticism from the family of slain former MP Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra, the Parliamentary Opposition, the legal community, and foreign nations. The Colombo High Court gave Silva the death sentence in 2016, over the murder of Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra. Silva had filed an appeal at the Supreme Court (SC) against the decision but the SC upheld the verdict on the murder conviction and affirmed the sentence. However, the Presidential Commission appointed to investigate incidents of political victimisation in 2020 had recommended the release of Silva. While there had been speculation from last year that this presidential pardon would be granted, the President had withheld it until yesterday, when he included Silva among 93 other prisoners in his Poson Poya Day list of pardons. Sumana Premachandra, the widow of Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra, reacted on social media, stating: “The country has reached a point where even a verdict of three judges of the Court of Appeal and five judges of the SC is not implemented. A killer has been set free. The sun will not shine on a country that doesn’t respect justice. In a country where there was a law, a crime was punished. In a country where there is no law, criminals are freed without justice in terms of punishment.” She also noted that this injustice had taken place on the auspicious day of Poson Poya. Attempts to contact the deceased MP’s daughter, former MP Hirunika Premachandra, who had led the fight against Silva, proved futile. As per Article 34 (1) of the Constitution, with regard to any convict, the President may grant a pardon, either free or subject to lawful conditions. In the case of the granting of pardons to those condemned to death, the President as per the proviso to Article 34 (1) of the Constitution, has to obtain and send the trial judge/s report/s to the Attorney General (AG) for advice, which in turn must be relayed to the Justice Minister who will in turn forward the report/s and the said advice along with his/her (Justice Minister’s) recommendations, back to the President, and due regard must be given by the President to such procedural safeguards. Also, Section 3 (q) of the Assistance to and Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses Act, No. 4 of 2015 as Amended, holds that the victim of a crime shall have the right and entitlement “in the event of any person in authority considering the grant of a pardon or remission of sentence imposed on any person convicted of having committed an offence, to receive notice thereof and submit through the National Authority for the Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses to the person granting such pardon or remission, the manner in which the offence committed had impacted on his/her life including his/her body, state of mind, employment, profession or occupation, income, quality of life, property, and any other aspects concerning his/her life”. The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), in a letter to the President, has noted that it is the right of the public to know whether the said pardon has been granted in accordance with the report of the trial judges, the advice of the AG, and the recommendation of the Justice Minister, and therefore has requested the President to make the public aware as to whether such report, advice, or recommendation does exist, and if so, whether they in fact recommended or did not recommend such pardon to Silva. The BASL maintains that if any one or more of such aforementioned considerations were not satisfied in the instant case, the pardon granted to Silva would be unreasonable and arbitrary and will in turn result in the erosion of the rule of law and a loss of public confidence in respect to the administration of justice. The BASL has also sought information on the grounds for the selection of Silva for the purpose of granting a pardon, the facts and circumstances which were taken into consideration in the granting of the said pardon, and the reasons as to why the case of Silva stands out from others who are currently sentenced. The US Embassy in Colombo also said in a Twitter message: “The pardon of Silva, whose conviction the SC upheld in 2018, undermines the rule of law. Accountability and equal access to justice are fundamental to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to which the Government of Sri Lanka has committed.” Meanwhile, the main Parliamentary Opposition Party, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), urged the Government to reverse the decision made to grant a presidential pardon to Silva. SJB General Secretary and MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara said that the decision should be reversed as it seems that the President has misused his powers to release a person who was found guilty by the SC and the Court of Appeal. Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and Opposition MP Shanakiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam claimed: “All the incidents taking place in the country at the moment is just a scripted drama from the beginning to the end. A popular media station belonging to one of Silva’s relatives attacked the Government in their news reports. This happened for two months to show the public that Silva is innocent. Giving a special presidential pardon to Silva is a case of one man challenging the judicial system. How could the Government allow this to happen? I think that the judicial system gave a fair decision with regard to the Silva case but justice is measured by different spoons. The pardon of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera who was convicted of contempt of court and sentenced to a term of rigourous imprisonment, and the pardon of the Royal Park murder convict who was sentenced to death, Don Shramantha Jude Anthony Jayamaha, both by former President Maithripala Sirisena, and the pardon of the Mirusuvil massacre convict who was sentenced to death, Sunil Rathnayaka, by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa are the best examples for that.” The United National Party (UNP) stated that the President should explain his decision to include the former parliamentarian in his list of presidential pardons. “What was the criteria used in determining those who were eligible for the presidential pardon? This particular case was of great public interest and as such the President must explain to the citizens of the country why he chose to issue this particular pardon,” the Party said in a press release. 


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