Duenuge Edward Henry Pedris (Sinhala: හෙන්රි පේද්රිස්; 16 August 1888 – 7 July 1915) was a Ceylonese militia officer and a prominent socialite.

[5] Both his father and uncle N. S. Fernando Wijesekara were leading businessmen of the time, and his family was among the wealthiest with ownership of graphite mines, plantations, real-estate and trading interests.

The British Governor of Ceylon, Sir Robert Chalmers, feared he might lose control of the colony and, on the advice of Brigadier General Malcolm, utilized a heavy-handed response towards the riot.

Among those imprisoned were D. S. Senanayake, D. R. Wijewardena, Edwin Wijeyeratne, Dr. Cassius Pereira, E. T. De Silva, F. R. Dias Bandaranaike, H. W. Amarasuriya, A. H. Molamure and several others.

The Court Martial Board was made up of British officers of 17th Panjab Regiment and Pedris was defended by Advocate L. H. de Alwis.

An appeal was made by Benjamin Bawa, and Eugene Wilfred Jayewardene to the Supreme Court and it was taken up before, Chief Justice Sir Alexander Wood–Renton C.J.

The decree of the District Judge was set aside the case was sent back for further inquiries, the plaintiff having to proved although convicted, Pedris did not commit treason.

Back in the District Court, Manufacture’s Life Insurance settled the matter with a full payment, presumably under pressure from the colonial government.

[7] On 11 December 2023, the Cabinet of Ministers approved a proposal by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to re-open the investigation into the killing of Henry Pedris, 108 years ago, by a decision of the colonial government.

A three-member committee was established to examine the details of his court-martial, execution, study the relevant matters, and submit a report with recommendations.

[8] On 12 September 2024, President Ranil Wickremesinghe issued a presidential pardon posthumously to Henry Pedris, 109 years after his execution, through a Gazette extraordinary notification.

claim the execution of Pedris by the colonial government marked the beginning of the Sri Lankan independence movement with many people specially from the educated middle class taking an active role in it.

[6] On the occasion of unveiling ceremony of the statue in Havelock Town, then Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa stated that the adjacent sports grounds should be renamed in his memory.