Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has decided to pardon the Tamil journalist J.S. Tissainayagam who is out on bail after being convicted on 31 August 2009 under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. In a media briefing today, the External Affairs Minister G.L Peiris said that ‘ President has taken this decision in view of World Press Freedom Day’.Tissainayagam was convicted on three counts by a Court in Sri Lanka in August last year and sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment. The charges under which he was convicted included editing, printing and distributing the publication North Eastern Monthly magazine, prejudicial to the interest of the country during the period between June 2006 and June 2007. He was also charged with inciting communal disharmony which was an offence punishable under Prevention of Terrorism Act.He was arrested in March 2008 and released on bail in January this year. The case attracted attention within and outside the island nation. U.S. President Barrack Obama had said that he was concerned about threats against the media the world over, and mentioned the plight of Sri Lankan journalist J. S. Tissainayagam who has been detained for over a year.In another development, the government is considering the relaxation of the emergency regulations. The newly formed Parliament which is scheduled to meet tomorrow will debate on this issue for the next two days.