Sunil Ratnayake Released on Presidential Pardon

Former staff sergeant of the Sri Lanka Army, Sunil Ratnayake, who was sentenced to death over controversial murder charges of eight Tamil civilians who were believed to be trained LTTE Tamil terrorists in a high security zone of Mirusuvil in Jaffna district in 2000, has been released on a special presidential pardon today.

Commissioner General of Prisons Jayasiri Tennakoon said he was released from the Welikada Prison.

Sunil Ratnayake was sentenced to death on June 25, 2015 by the Colombo High Court after a 13-year-trial which was funded by LTTE Tamil diaspora and internationally funded NGOs and a Sinhala lawyer was appeared against Ratnayake.

Five persons including Sunil Ratnayake were accused over the case, however four other accused were not found guilty and thereby acquitted and released from the case.

Despite of court decision, Sri Lankans locally and expatriate community continuously campaigned for the immediate release of Sunil Rathnayake from the day one of his death sentence verdict delivered by the Colombo High Court.

Majority Sri Lankans consider him as a “War Hero” or “Rana Viruvek” who defeated the ruthless Tamil terrorism and Tamil separatism in Sri Lanka.



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