AG moves to extradite Royal Park murder convict

Monday, 17 June 2024 01:27 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Yvonne Jonsson

Attorney General Sanjay Rajaratnam has instructed officials to take necessary measures to extradite Royal Park murder convict Jude Shramantha Jayamaha from Singapore.

On 6 June, the Supreme Court annulled the presidential pardon granted by former President Maithripala Sirisena to Jayamaha, who was convicted for the murder of 19-year-old Yvonne Jonsson at the Royal Park apartments. The Apex Court held that the pardon had violated constitutional provisions.

Accordingly, the Attorney General has now written to the President’s Secretary, the Secretary to the Minister of Public Security, the Inspector General of Police, the Secretary to the Ministry of Justice, the Commissioner-General of Prisons, and the Department of Immigration and Emigration.

He has issued specific instructions to each of them regarding the steps to be taken to implement the Supreme Court’s decision that nullified the presidential pardon granted to Jayamaha.

Since the Supreme Court has ordered the Attorney General’s Department to notify the court every two months about the actions taken in relation to the implementation of the court order, the Attorney General has requested that the respective agencies provide him with a progress report on their actions by 2 August.

All agencies have been instructed to cooperate with other relevant authorities to implement the court’s orders, particularly to ensure Jayamaha serves his life imprisonment sentence. A team of officials from the Attorney General’s Department, led by Additional Solicitor General Nerin Pulle, has issued these instructions after studying the Supreme Court’s judgement.

The Secretary of the Ministry of Justice has been instructed to refer to the provisions of the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act, No. 25 of 2002, along with other relevant laws, international, regional, and bilateral treaties and agreements, to locate, arrest, and extradite Jayamaha.