Fonseka urges President to pardon those sentenced to death over Amarakeerthi killing

The former Commander of the Sri Lanka Army, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka has made a special request to the President to grant a pardon to the individuals who were sentenced to death over the killing of former Member of Parliament Amarakeerthi Athukorala and his security officer.

The former Army Commander made this request at a special media briefing held in Colombo.

During the briefing, he stated that releasing such individuals from the death penalty could be done by the President with a single stroke of the pen.

“Grant a pardon to the youths who were sentenced to death over the killing of Amarakeerthi.

Freeing such individuals from the death penalty is something the President should do with one stroke of the pen,” he said.

On February 11, the three-judge special High Court trial-at-bar sentenced 12 individuals to death after finding them guilty of the killing of former Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna MP Amarakeerthi Athukorala and his security officer in 2022.

The sentence was pronounced by the Gampaha High Court Trial-at-Bar after a lengthy hearing.

Another four individuals were handed six-month sentences suspended for five years.
Furthermore, 23 other accused in the case were acquitted by the Gampaha High Court Trial-at-Bar.

The Polonnaruwa District parliamentarian and his security officer, a Police Constable, were reported dead amidst the unrest in the Nittambuwa area during the nationwide incidents of violence on May 09, 2022.

Initially, a shooting incident was reported in the Nittambuwa area that evening, following which a total of six injured people were rushed to the Wathupitiwala Base Hospital.

Hospital sources later confirmed that three of them had sustained gunshot wounds, whereas a 27-year-old who was in critical condition had later succumbed to injuries.

According to reports, the parliamentarian and his security officer had opened fire at an angry mob of protesters and critically injured two people while they were blocking his vehicle. The MP and his security officer were later found murdered while hiding inside a nearby building.

Footage secured from a nearby CCTV camera showed MP Amarakeerthi Athukorala fleeing the scene with his security officer, who was armed with a gun. Dozens of suspects had been subsequently arrested on several occasions on suspicion of involvement in the MP’s murder.

Accordingly, the Attorney General filed indictments before the Gampaha High Court against 42 individuals in relation to the killings.