News, Picks

Lanka appeals to Saudi against death sentence

21 Nov, 2015

The Sri Lankan Government?has appealed the death sentence handed to a Sri Lankan woman in Riyadh for adultery.

Upul Deshapriya, spokesman of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE), told Arab News that the maid was recently sentenced to death after being found guilty of having an illicit affair with a Sri Lankan bachelor.

He said the Saudi court ordered the man be punished with 100 lashes.?A government official in Colombo said the Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh has contacted the Saudi authorities to explore the possibilities of reviewing the verdict.

He said the ministry was making efforts to save the housemaid?s life.?Sources from Colombo said the convicted woman is married and has children in Sri Lanka.

Foreign Employment Minister Thalatha Athukorala?s media secretary Nalin Rajapaksha said: ?Since she has pleaded guilty, we are unable to request the Saudi government to lift the sentence. Therefore, our minister Athukorala filed an appeal before the Riyadh Court requesting it to reduce the punishment. The ministry has already made lawyers? payments through the Saudi Embassy in Sri Lanka”.

Recommended For You

Feature Image

Assets owned by group behind bombings to be seized

Assets owned by the group behind the Easter Sunday bombings is to be seized. The Police said that the Criminal Investigations Department has identified the assets. He said that steps are now being taken to seize the assets. President Maithripala Sirisena this week banned the National Thawheed Jammath (NTJ) and Jamathei Millathu Ibraheem (JMI). President Maithripala Sirisena, in terms of the powers vested in him as the President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka under Emergenc

01 May, 2019

Feature Image

Business community slams negligence of Government machinery

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce is deeply concerned that the events that resulted in the senseless acts of terrorism that claimed the lives of so many people were able to be carried out due to the negligence of the Government machinery. In letters sent to President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce said that while terrorist activities aimed at achieving ideological objectives can never find justification, what is deeply saddening is that

02 May, 2019

Feature Image

Extreme weather warning issued as ‘FANI’ moves away from Sri Lanka

An extreme weather warning has been issued as the ‘FANI’ cyclone moves away from Sri Lanka. The Department of Meteorology said that the storm was located near latitude 14’1N, Longitude 83.9E at 08.30 a,m. as of today (1st May 2019) about 680 km northeast of Trincomalee. The storm is likely to move northwestwards and thereafter recurve north-northeastwards towards the Odisha Coast, India while moving away from the island. General public, Naval and fishing communities have been requested to be

01 May, 2019