Sri Lankan journalist's presidential pardon to be finalized this week

Sri Lanka Attorney General has said that presidential pardon on senior journalist J. S. Tissainayagam announced last week would be finalized this week.
Attorney General Mohan Peiris has reportedly said the procedure with regard to the presidential pardon would be processed during the course of the week.
The AG has also noted that the pardon would be affected simultaneous to the withdrawal of appeal filed by Tissainayagam before the Court of Appeal.



"It is necessary for him to go to prison even though the appeal is withdrawn. We will workout a way to process the pardon simultaneous to the withdrawal," Peiris has said.

Tissainayagam who was sentenced to 20 years Rigorous Imprisonment under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and Emergency Regulations was granted bail by the courts in January this year.

In August 2009 he was convicted under three charges of conspiracy and violating the Prevention of Terrorism Act and emergency regulations after he was arrested in 2008 and charged with inciting violence in articles in his magazine.