World News | Sri Lankan President Grants Amnesty to 197 Prisoners on 74th Independence Day

Colombo [Sri Lanka], February 4 (ANI): Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Friday granted amnesty to 197 prisoners on the country's 74th Independence Day, m4edia reported citing the government information department.

The prisoners were released at a ceremony held in Colombo's Welikada prison, according to Xinhua News Agency.

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Chandana Ekanayake, the prison's spokesperson said that those released were serving minor sentences and some of them had not been able to pay their fines.

Prisoners over the age of 65 and those who had completed 50 per cent of the jail term were also among those who were released under the presidential pardon, the news agency reported.

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The amnesty did not apply to those convicted for murder, drug offences, rape and armed robbery, Ekanayake said.

Sri Lanka got its independence from British rule on February 4 of 1948, and a grand military parade was held to celebrate its 74th Independence Day. (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)