The Colombo High Court has ordered the release of former Member of Parliament Mrs. Hirunika Premachandra, who was sentenced to three years of imprisonment with hard labor. The decision was handed down by Colombo High Court Judge Amal Ranaraja.
Under the terms of her release, Mrs. Premachandra was granted bail on two personal bonds of 50,000 rupees and 500,000 rupees. Judge Ranaraja also stipulated that Mrs. Premachandra is prohibited from traveling abroad.
Representing Mrs. Premachandra was President’s Counsel Nalinda Indatissa, while Additional Solicitor General Janaka Bandara appeared on behalf of the Attorney General, according to our court reporter.
Mrs. Premachandra was convicted on December 21, 2015, of 18 charges, including the abduction of a young man named Amila Priyanka. Priyanka, who worked in a shop in Dematagoda, was forcibly taken from a black Defender car, wrongfully imprisoned, and assaulted. For these offenses, the Colombo High Court sentenced Mrs. Premachandra to three years of imprisonment with hard labor and fined her 360,000 rupees.
However, Mrs. Premachandra has filed an appeal against these convictions. The decision to grant bail was announced following a request by her lawyers to release her while the appeal is pending.
