Colombo:
Sri Lanka on Thursday released 93 prisoners, such as 16 LTTE terror suspects held devoid of charges, just after they have been pardoned by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The prisoners have been released on the presidential pardon on the occasion of Poson Poya, an annual festival celebrated by Sri Lanka’s Buddhist majority to mark the arrival of Buddhism in the nation.
Prison spokesman Thushara Upuldeniya mentioned the suspects belonging to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have been amongst the 93 who had received the presidential pardon.
They have been released from the prison in the northern town of Jaffna and the north-central town of Anuradhapura. They have been arrested below the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).
Sri Lankan presidents on considerable Buddhist days use their executive authority to release prisoners just after needed suggestions from authorities.
The major Tamil party, the TNA, has been pressing along with rights groups to seek the release of Tamil political prisoners, who have been held devoid of charges for more than 10-20 years.
The European Parliament early this month adopted a resolution calling for the repealing of Sri Lanka’s PTA.
TNA sources mentioned practically one hundred Tamil political prisoners are becoming held devoid of charges. The Sri Lankan government maintains there are no political prisoners in jail.
The LTTE ran a military campaign for a separate Tamil homeland in the northern and eastern provinces of the island nation for practically 30 years just before its collapse in 2009 just after the Sri Lankan Army killed its supreme leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.