US welcomes prisoner release except Duminda

The United States yesterday commended the release of prisoners detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), but expressed its concerns over the release of former MP Duminda Silva.

U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives Alina B Teplitz in a Tweet said, “We welcome the early release of PTA prisoners, but the pardon of Duminda Silva, whose conviction the Supreme Court upheld in 2018, undermines the rule of law. Accountability and equal access to justice are fundamental to the UN SDGs to which the GoSL has committed,” the Tweet said.