526 inmates get amnesty in Sri Lanka on Christmas

Colombo, Dec 25 : Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena granted amnesty to about 526 inmates on Monday on the occasion of Christmas, an official said.

Prisons Commissioner H.M.T.N. Upuldeniya told Xinhua that these 526 were in jail for minor offences.

Upuldeniya said special religious celebrations were also organised within the premises of the prisons throughout the country to mark Christmas.

Christians account for seven per cent of Sri Lanka's total population, mainly concentrated in the western coastal belt of the country.

Sri Lanka is in the habit of granting such pardons in respect of events of national significance such as the New Year, the National Independence Day and the Buddhist festival Vesak.

The President has the Constitutional power to grant full pardon to inmates or commute their sentences.