'Pardoning' Tissainayagam delayed
[TamilNet, Sunday, 23 May 2010, 17:10 GMT]
Sri Lankan 'presidential pardon' granted to senior journalist J.S.Tissainayagam
is delayed due to the withdrawal of his appeal from the law court,
claimed Sri Lankan Foreign External Affairs Minister G.L.Peiris to Colombo media
Friday.
This is a procedural step that has to be attended by his lawyers. But
the government has instructed the Attorney General to provide
necessary assistance to the aggrieved party to speed up the
formalization of the presidential pardon that the government announced
on the World Press Freedom Day, Minister Peiris further said. The High Court of Colombo sentenced the journalist to twenty years
rigorous imprisonment after he was arrested and
charged under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). Tissainayagam later filed an
appeal in the Court of Appeal against the conviction. He is on bail at
present.
Related Articles:15.05.10 Thought crime, torture and kingly fiat
|