Notice to former President Gotabaya to provide information on amnesty to the convict sentenced to death
The mass murder that scared the whole country
In the year 2000, eight displaced civilians, including a five-year-old child, were brutally killed in the Mirisuvil area of Jaffna during the war with the LTTE terrorists.
The Colombo High Court found Army Sergeant Sunil Ratnayake guilty of the incident and sentenced him to death. However, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa granted him a general amnesty and he was released on a presidential pardon.
The Supreme Court has now ordered former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to present his facts to the court, following a fundamental rights petition filed by Dr. Pakyasothy Saravanamuthu, Executive Director of Alternative Policy Center.
The petition was brought before the Supreme Court bench of Justices Yasanta Kodagoda and Achala Vengappuli on the 17th.
Argument of the petitioner
When the petition was called, M.A. Sumandhiran, representing the petitioner, pointed out that former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Army Sergeant Sunil Ratnayake, who were named as respondents in the petition, should be allowed to issue notices to the court to present their facts.
The bench accepted the request and ordered a notice to former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, asking him to state the facts regarding the release of the accused. It has also been instructed to issue a notice to Army Sergeant Sunil Ratnayake, who was named a respondent in the petition and released on a presidential pardon, asking him to present his facts regarding this petition.
The Supreme Court also approves the decision of the High Court
The petitioners are questioning the basis on which the President pardoned Sunil Ratnayake. On December 19, 2000, the Attorney General initiated proceedings before a three-judge High Court Bench of the Colombo High Court against Army Corporal Sunil Ratnayake and a group of individuals accused of killing and burying 8 civilians, including a child, in the Mirisuvil area of Jaffna.
Following the trial, Sunil Ratnayake was found guilty, and the three-member bench of the Colombo High Court sentenced him to death. Subsequently, Ratnayake appealed to the Supreme Court to overturn the death sentence.
However, a five-member Supreme Court bench upheld the High Court’s decision on May 20, 2017. Despite this, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa granted a pardon to Sunil Ratnayake and released him on March 26, 2020.
Is the amnesty granted out of due process of law?
Under Article 34 of the Constitution, the petitioner has pointed out that the President is empowered to grant amnesty to persons convicted by the court.
They have highlighted that there is a legal procedure to be followed by the President in granting the pardon and that the freedom granted was done outside of that legal process.
The petitioners argue that former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa released the accused without following the correct legal procedure by granting a presidential pardon to him, which is against the constitution.
An undermining of executive powers and people’s sovereignty?
The petitioner Pakyasothy Saravanamuthu has informed the court that the former President misused the judiciary’s power and compromised its independence. The petition also alleges a violation of people’s sovereignty.
The petitioner has requested the Supreme Court to declare that fundamental human rights were violated and to nullify the presidential pardon granted to Sunil Ratnayake by former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, which commuted his death penalty. The Supreme Court has scheduled a further hearing on this petition for September 4.
