Jan 03, Colombo: It has been decided to grant a presidential pardon to Ven Uvathenne Sumana Thera who was sentenced to life imprisonment for possessing a firearm during the 2010 presidential election, President’s Media Director Mohan Samaranayake said.

The President’s Media Director further said the President has informed the Minister of Justice of the decision in this regard.

During the 2010 Presidential Election, officers of the Police Terrorism Investigation Division found 210 rounds of live ammunition and 50 hand grenades in a temple in the Maligawatte area where the Thero was residing.

Ven. Sumana Thera who was a supporter of the then Presidential candidate former Army commander Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka was sentenced for the possession of a T56 firearm.

The Colombo High Court sentenced four suspects including the Thero to life imprisonment in June last year.