Former President Maithripala Sirisena recorded a statement with the Bribery Commission for two hours yesterday regarding the presidential pardon granted to Jude Shramantha Jayamaha, who was convicted of a murder at the Royal Park apartment in Colombo.
It is reported that the former President was summoned before the Bribery Commission to record a statement regarding a complaint alleging that he had accepted a bribe to grant the presidential pardon.
Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Executive Committee Member Montague Sarachchandra filed the complaint with the Bribery Commission in 2022.
The complainant sought an investigation into whether former President Maithripala Sirisena or former MP Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera had received money as a bribe to grant the presidential pardon to Jude Shramantha Jayamaha.
Jude Shramantha Jayamaha was sentenced to death for the murder of Yvonne Jonsson at the Royal Park condominium complex in Rajagiriya in 2005. He was, however, later granted a presidential pardon by former President Maithripala Sirisena in 2019.
In June this year, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka quashed the order of former President Maithripala Sirisena to grant a presidential pardon to Jude Shramantha Jayamaha, stating it was in violation of the Constitution. (Newswire)