The Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan
Sivagnanam Shritharan raised a question under Standing Order 27(2) to the Minister of Justice and National Integration regarding Tamil political prisoners detained for long periods in Sri Lankan prisons. He asked for the number of such prisoners, the prisons in which they are held, and the Government’s timeline for their release. He also requested consideration of their release on humanitarian grounds or through a Presidential pardon, citing the impact on their families and the Government’s stated themes of ethnic harmony and reform.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Release of Tamil Political Prisoners
¶ 02 Mr. Speaker, under Standing Order 27(2), thank you for permitting me to question the Hon. Harshana Nanayakkara, Minister of Justice and National Integration.
¶ 03 Many Tamil youths have been detained for long periods in Sri Lankan prisons as political prisoners. Their families await their return in tears. Some children, bereft of one or both parents for years, long for their release. In the spirit of “ethnic harmony”, “a new thinking for change”, and “a clean Sri Lanka”, let us also remember “prisoners are human too”. Their relatives have long appealed for their release. Accordingly, I ask: 1) How many Tamil political prisoners are currently in prison? 2) In which prisons are they detained? 3) When will they be released? 4) Can they be released on humanitarian grounds or through a Presidential pardon?
Provenance
- Source
- Hansard, Friday, 28 February 2025 ·No. 1741927369029372 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 28 February 2025. No. 1741927369029372. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/26229