Jude Shramantha Jayamaha, the convict of the famous Royal Park murder case, walked out a free man this morning, the Prisons Department confirmed.

President Maithripala Sirisena signed papers last night, granting him presidential pardon, a week before his last day in office.

Jayamaha was sentenced to death in 2005 over the murder of Yvonne Jonsson at the Royal Park housing complex in Athurugiriya.

Justifying the Presidential pardon for Jayamaha, President Maithripala Sirisena said the convict had completed his PhD while in prison.

"He committed the crime when he was 19, and today he is 32," President Sirisena said.

However, the President's decision has caused a firestorm of criticism, with many parties, including the family of the victim, expressing contempt at the move.