In a recent announcement by Sri Lankan Prison Commissioner, Gamini Dissanayake, Sri Lanka’s President Ranil Wickremesinghe pardoned over 1,000 prisoners on the Christmas holiday. Out of the total 1,004 pardoned inmates, 989 were men and 15 were women, majority of them being accused of non-payment of outstanding fines.
The Sri Lanka president released a statement urging Sri Lankans to unite in shouldering their responsibilities and acknowledging the struggles faced by the nation. The power to pardon subjects is granted to the President under Article 34 of the Sri Lankan Constitution, although it comes with certain limitations and guidelines.
This large-scale pardon comes during a time when the country is striving to reconcile people after the civil war. Earlier in December, the authorities declaired the establishment of an independent Truth, Unity and Reconciliation Commission in this context. Furthermore, the country has been facing criticisms over the lack of judicial independence and rampant corruption.
A report by the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka highlighted complaints from prisoners about ill-treatment and inadequate resources in prisons, along with overpopulation issues. Sri Lanka’s prison system, designed for nearly 13,000 inmates, has to cope with over 30,000, necessitating prisoner-sharing cells. Notably, more than 200 remandees inhabit a cell in one of Sri Lanka’s largest prisons. All these underline the country’s necessity for exploring alternative penal punishments, such as house arrest, to alleviate the severe overcrowding issue.
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