Sri Lanka- Govt soon to end moratorium on death penalty :President

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Wednesday said that his government will soon resume death penalties after a 42-year moratorium but will send home five Pakistanis sentenced to death for execution in their home country.

Addressing a public meeting in Mannar district, Sirisena said he is determined to carry out the death penalty for serious drug traffickers and will start with a list of 18 given to him by the prisons department.

The President said he would hold talks with Pakistan’s new Prime Minister Imran Khan on repatriating the five Pakistanis, who are among the 18, and having them executed there.

Sri Lankan President had earlier opined that there are some drug smugglers operating from prison and must be executed.

However, human rights groups and the European Union have asked Sri Lanka to reconsider implementing the death penalty.

There are around 373 convicts on death row in Sri Lanka, including the 18 drug traffickers.

Sri Lankan police say the country is being used as a transit point for drug trafficking as more than a tonne of cocaine seized in recent years was destroyed by police in January.