Convicted Murderer Sworn into Sri Lankan Parliament
Sri Lanka’s ruling Podujana Peramuna Party has many worried about its influence (Wikimedia Commons).
Premalal Jayasekara, a convicted murderer on death row, was sworn in as a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka on September 8. Jayasekara and two others were found guilty of shooting and murdering an opposition activist during the 2015 presidential election.
He was escorted from prison to Parliament amid protests from opposition lawmakers of the People’s Liberation Front, who walked out of the session as Jayasekera was being sworn in. They also wore black shawls to express respect for his murder victim. Jayasekara has been a member of Parliament since 2001 and now serves Ratnapura District. The Sri Lanka People’s Front nominated Jayasekara while he was facing a murder charge but prior to his conviction.
After prison authorities initially barred Jayasekera from attending the inaugural session of the legislature, he petitioned the Court of Appeal. The Court ruled that Jayasekara had rights as an elected lawmaker despite his conviction, and it gave the speaker of Parliament the choice of swearing him in. The Parliament of Sri Lanka’s official website omits Jayasekara’s conviction, simply stating his days present as ‘0’ during the Ninth Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.
As Jayasekara was sworn in, he addressed lawmakers, claiming that opposition politicians had framed him for the 2015 murder. He emphasized his innocence and requested a new trial. Jayasekara’s swearing-in has opposition lawmakers angry and worried about the reach of the Sri Lanka People’s Front, a political front led by Gotabaya and Mahinda Rajapaksa. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the former defense secretary, was elected as president in November 2019. Mahinda Rajapaksa is the current Sri Lankan prime minister, having served as president from 2005-2015.
The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Party won 145 out of 225 seats in Parliament in August and has influence over five more seats held by allies, giving the party a two-thirds majority in Parliament. The Rajapaksa brothers themselves have been accused of human rights abuses during their previous roles in power from 2005-2015, such as killing and tyrannizing activists and journalists.
Although the first convicted murderer serving in the Sri Lankan Parliament, Jayasekara is not the only legislator brought to Parliament from prison. Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan is currently facing murder charges and he is brought in for sessions from prison. Sri Lanka has not executed anyone on death row since 1976, but the government announced in 2019 its intentions to resume executions.