The Attorney General will issue legal instructions to offer a Presidential pardon to former SJB parliamentarian and state minister Ranjan Ramanayake, who is currently serving a four-year sentence of rigorous imprisonment for contempt of court, within the next few days, according to Minister of Justice, Prison Affairs, and Constitutional Reforms Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe.
The Supreme Court condemned the actor-turned-politician to four years of solitary confinement on January 12, 2021, on grounds of contempt of court stemming from comments he had made regarding the legal system in August 2017.
The Justice Minister had been asked by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to look into the possibilities of pardoning Ramanayake. As a result, Minister Rajapakshe requested a private report on the subject from the Commissioner General of Prisons.
As a result, the report was obtained, and it has since been delivered to the Attorney General (AG) in order to request legal counsel about the prospect of awarding Ramanayake a presidential pardon. The Minister informed the Sunday Observer that he will “soon get legal guidance from the Attorney General with reference to this situation.”
