Sri Lanka Prison Chief Remanded in Pardon Abuse Probe

Sri Lanka's prisons chief, Thushara Upuldeniya, and the head of Anuradhapura jail, Mohan Karunarathna, have been arrested.

They are accused of wrongly using a presidential pardon process to free prisoners who shouldn't have been released.

This follows a presidential inquiry into the release of a specific convict.

Upuldeniya was questioned by the police and was remanded.

A list of pardoned inmates did not include the name of the released convict.

The opposition questioned the circumstances of the release.

Article 34 (1) of the Sri Lankan Constitution allows the President to grant amnesties.

Previous pardons by former leaders were deemed incorrect by courts.