Colombo, May 21 (IANS): A total of 540 prisoners were released on Saturday in Sri Lanka on a presidential pardon in view of Vesak, a holy day for Buddhists all over the world.
The country's prisons department said those released were serving time for minor offences and included those who had been imprisoned for their failure to pay the fines imposed by the courts, Xinhua news agency reported.
Those who are above 70 in age and who had been serving their sentences for more than 10 years were also included in the pardon, it said.
The department said no prisoners who had been sentenced for murder and robbery or for abusing children and women were released.