On freedom day, Sri Lanka releases 1,400 prisoners

1,414 prisoners serving light sentences were granted amnesty by the President of Sri Lanka.

4 February 2012, 12:00am

1 min read

Sarath Fonseka was not among those granted amnesty by his former rival, the President of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka freed 1,414 convicts on Saturday to mark the country's 64th anniversary of independence from Britain, a prisons official told AFP.

President Mahinda Rajapakse granted an amnesty to convicts serving light sentences, but these did not include Sarath Fonseka. AFP reports that Sri Lanka's most high-profile prisoner, former army chief and defeated presidential candidate was not among those released.

The decision has defeated intense local media speculation that Rajapakse may use the Independence anniversary to pardon his rival.

Fonseka was arrested two weeks after he lost presidential polls to Rajapakse in January 2010. He is currently serving a three-year sentence for alleging that the president's brother had ordered the execution of surrendering rebels.

Fonseka is also serving a concurrent 30-month sentence handed down after a court martial found him guilty of irregularities when he was army chief.