Sri Lankan President, and accused war criminal, Gotabaya Rajapaksa has appointed convicted Murder and former MP Duminda Silva as the chairman of the National Housing Development Authority. The full letter of his appointment can be seen here.
This follows the widely condemned pardon granted to Silva, who was convicted in 2016 of killing fellow politician Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra and three of his supporters during local elections in Colombo in 2011.
Sri Lankan President meeting with Duminda Silva earlier this week
Responding to this pardon both the United States and UNHRC condemned the pardon highlighting the arbitrary use of the President’s pardoning power and how it undermined accountability.
Read more here: UNHRC and US condemn pardon of Duminda Silva
Read more here.
