Presidential pardon to Hudson

Thursday, 27 September 2012

The President has said that he would grant an immediate pardon to Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) Chairman Hudson Samarasinghe if he was punished for insulting courts.

The President had made this comment when several heads of state media institutions had inquired about the resolution presented by Attorney Upul Jayasuriya to the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BALS) on Samarasinghe’s conduct that was unanimously passed by the Association.

The President had re-iterated that Samarasinghe had spoken the truth and that he should not fear to speak the truth. The President had added to the media heads that he would always stand by persons who stood for the truth.

The resolution presented by Jayasuriya that legal action should be taken against Samarasinghe for making derogatory statements about the judiciary and challenging its independence was unanimously passed by the BASL. A committee comprising four President’s Counsel has been appointed to initiate the necessary legal action. State media heads have therefore been discussing in the past few days that Samarasinghe would definitely be punished by the judiciary for his conduct.