Pardoning murder convict Shramantha Jayamaha for a bribe & President Sirisena’s culpability.

Image: Alleged bribe taker Rathana Thero was a close associate of Sirisena and a presidential adviser.

By Sri Lanka Brief-23/06/2022

Former President Maithripala Sirisena’s recent statement on the presidential pardon given to a convicted murder Shramantha Jude Jayamaha raises more questions than answers.

Son of wealthy businessman in Colombo, Shramantha Jayamaha was sentenced to death for the murder of Yvonne Jonsson at the Royal Park Condominium complex in Rajagiriya in 2005.

In 2006 the High Court ordered a 12-year prison sentence for Jayamaha. In 2012 Jayamaha was given the death sentence by the Court of Appeal following an application by the Attorney General’s department against the earlier verdict.

The sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka.

On November 9, 2019,  Shramantha Jayamaha was granted a presidential pardon by Maithripala Sirisena during his last week in office.

Now in speaking to media Sirisena says that an investigation has revealed that some individual has taken money to ensure that a presidential pardon was granted to Royal Park murder convict Shramantha Jude Jayamaha.

In plane language this is a bribe.

But Sirisena denies taking any part of the said bribe to give a presidential pardon to Shramantha Jayamaha.

Sirisena’s family has acquired bungalows and tourist hotels during his presidency. There has no information in public about how his family earned money to acquire these asserts.

Sirisena says that  MP Athureliya Rathana Thero had visited him along with the parents of convicted Shramantha Jayamaha and had handed over a letter seeking the latter’s release.

Sirisena further says that although he had not paid much attention to the letter, MP Sirisena said that MP Rathana Thero would visit him often with Shramantha’s family members and kept urging him to release him.

Then comes the most interesting statement:

“There were rumours that I had received Rs. 50 million, Rs. 50 billion, and even Rs. 80 billion to release Shramantha. I immediately instructed CID (Crime Investigation Department) officers to investigate the matter. Officers from the CID found that someone has taken payment to ensure Shramantha’s release.”

The money was given by family of Shramantha to undisclosed person.

In the same interview Sirisena hints that the person received the bribe could be MP Athureliya Rathana Thero. When inquired if the people who took the money were the ones who had been keen on the release of Shramantha, the former President said that could be the case.

Rathana Thero has not responded to Sirisena’s accusation yet.

These are vert  important questions that Sirisena must answer in relation to his statement on pardoning a murder and so-called investigation he authorised.

Who are the CID officers handed this investigation?

Did Senior SDIG Ravi Seneviratne or SSP Shani Abeysekera, who were the heads of the CID at the time, knew about this investigation?

To whom the investigation report was submitted?

Did President Sirisena lodge a complaint with the Bribery Commission regarding the bribery taken form ShramanthaJayamaha’s family? If not, why?

How much money was given as a bribe according to the investigation report?

Is there a copy of the investigation report?

CID officers can not report to president directly and any report has to go through the heads of the department. Sirisena didn’t have a private Intelligence Unit.

If a President finds out that a person sentenced to death by the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka was released after accepting a bribe, it is also a crime not to take appropriate legal action.

By Se. Piyawardena.

(With the inputs from several media reports)