June 12, Colombo (LNW): A senior figure within Sri Lanka’s prison administration has stepped down, intensifying the fallout from a recent controversy surrounding the premature release of an inmate under questionable circumstances.
Commissioner Gamini B. Dissanayake, who served as the official media spokesperson for the Department of Prisons, is understood to have submitted his resignation to the Acting Commissioner General, citing concerns linked to the widely criticised release of a detainee from Anuradhapura Prison during the Vesak Poya period.
The pardon, which was issued under a special Presidential amnesty scheme, has come under increasing public and political scrutiny due to allegations that due process was not followed.
Though full details of the inmate’s identity and case remain undisclosed, civil society watchdogs and legal analysts have raised concerns about transparency and the potential misuse of executive clemency.
In the wake of the suspension of Commissioner General Thushara Upuldeniya, who had previously been at the helm of the Department, the Ministry of Justice appointed Additional Secretary Nishan Dhanasinghe to serve as Acting Commissioner General.
