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| Sunday, 10 April 2005 |
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SLBFE to bear legal costs of Lankan convicts in Saudi by Ananda Kannangara The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) on Friday agreed to bear the legal expenses that would be incurred on behalf of three Sri Lankan workers found guilty of armed robbery and facing death penalty in Saudi Arabia. "The decision was taken following discussions we had with senior officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after considering the appeals made by relatives of the convicted workers," SLBFE, Chairman Prof. Bandula Karunathilaka told the Sunday Observer. The three convicts now in Al Nayad prison in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia are Ranjith Silva of Nugegoda, Victor Corea of Rajanganaya and Sanath Pushpakumara of Madampe. They were sentenced to death by the Saudi Arabian Lower Court on October 28, last year and confirmed by High Court on March 10, this year. In executing the death penalty all three will be beheaded. Another Sri Lankan Shamil Sangeeth of Matugama who was found guilty for another offence was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. However this matter was earlier brought to the attention of the Labour Minister, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and also the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) by the relatives of the victims. Meanwhile the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement says that the victims had committed three robberies and they were caught in the act of robbing a municipal vehicle. The statement also mentions that a group of officers from the Sri Lanka Embassy in Riyadh had visited the accused in prison on four occasions and the courts on nine occasions to extend consular assistance. It is said that these four accused had earlier not cooperated with the Embassy officials and informed them that they did not require any assistance. The Lankan Embassy had contacted a law firm in Saudi Arabia in this regard and also advised the SLBFE to consider assistance to secure legal aid to the victims. The Ministry has also advised the next-of-kin of four accused to submit appeals to His Majesty the King of Saudi Arabia requesting a pardon or a lesser punishment on humanitarian grounds. Meanwhile the next-of-kin of the three workers had also sought the intervention of the Working Committee for the Protection of Rights of Sri Lankan Migrant Workers (WCPRSLMW) to assist them to obtain a lesser punishment for the victims. Speaking to the Sunday Observer Convener, WCPRSLMW Ranjan Ramanayaka said
that their organisation had tendered a request to Prince Al-Azees of Saudi
Arabia through Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse during the Prince's visit to
Sri Lanka recently. |
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