Sri Lanka to probe killing of Henry Pedris 108 years ago

The Cabinet of Ministers at its meeting on Monday approved the proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to probe the killing of Edward Henry Pedris 108 year ago by a decision of the colonial court-martial.

Cabinet also approved the appointment of a three-member committee chaired by retired Supreme Court Judge Anil Gunarathna to reveal the information about his killing, study the relevant matters and submit a report with recommendations to the Cabinet of Ministers in order to bring justice to him. Pedris, who was 27 years of age at the time of his death, was brought before a military court and convicted of treason by the colonial administration of Sri Lanka accusing him of rioting and treason against the government, and on 07.07.1915 he was sentenced to death ignoring all appeals. The body of the late Pedris has been cremated at an undisclosed location following the procedure prescribed for the cremation of a convicted criminal under martial law. It was later revealed that he was killed as a result of a plan carried out by the senior officials who ruled the country at that time.