President Maithripala Sirisena has released Bodu Bala Sena General Secretary Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera on a special presidential pardon, Asian Mirror learns. Gnanasara Thera was convicted for Contempt of Court last year and was senteneced to a 6-year imprisonment. The controversial monk's release follows a meeting he had with President Sirisena in Welikada prison over the weekend. The Presidential Secretariat called for a report from the Prisons Department yesterday on the conduct of Gnanasara Thera while in prison.