No Freedom Day freedom for Ranjan

A total of 197 prison inmates were granted a presidential pardon on Friday to coincide with the country’s 74th Independence Day. Former Samagi Jana Balawegaya

( SJB) Parliamentarian Ranjan Ramanayake, however, was not among them despite wide expectations that he would also be included in the list.

There had been feverish speculation in the days leading up to Friday that Mr. Ramanayake, who is serving a four- year prison sentence for contempt of court, would be pardoned on Independence Day.

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa had expressed confidence that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa would accept the request made by him and the SJB, to pardon Mr. Ramanayake. So confident were SJB supporters that Mr. Ramanayake’s official Facebook page shared a post stating that he would be released at 11.00 am on Independence Day. Yet, the day came and went without such a pardon.

The SJB is now planning to launch a series of protests calling on the President to grant Mr. Ramanayake a pardon.