Sri Lanka pardons suspected Tamil Tigers convicted of terrorism

President pardons 16 men as island nation faces UN pressure over detentions without charge under an anti-terrorism law.

Sri Lanka’s president has pardoned 16 men linked to the Tamil Tiger rebels, as the island nation faces renewed pressure from the United Nations over detentions without charge under an anti-terrorism law. Thursday’s pardon is a first for people linked to the Tigers since Gotabaya Rajapaksa came to power in 2019 on a nationalist agenda, which included a promise that troops who crushed the rebels would not be prosecuted. The men were convicted under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) that gives security forces sweeping powers to arrest and detain suspects. The UN Human Rights Council and other international rights groups have called for it to be repealed.