Sri Lankan Minister of National Dialogue Mano Ganesan said the government would not be granting an amnesty to Tamil political prisoners who had gone on hunger strike earlier this month.
"There will be no common amnesty for over 200 prisoners, mostly Tamils, who staged a hunger strike in jails throughout the country," said Mr Ganesan.
Elaborating on a meeting held with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe the minister added that Mr Wickremesinghe himself stated it was not possible to grant a common amnesty.
However he said “the bail procedure could be expedited” and “officials have been advised to explore the possibility of doing so".
His comments come after Sri Lankan’s Minister of Law and Order and Prison Reforms refused to grant any pardons to Tamil political prisoners held in jails across the island, following protests against their continued detention last week. Sri Lanka’s justice minister and cabinet spokesperson both reiterated there were no political prisoners on the island last week.
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