RIYADH, 28 March 2005 — Sri Lanka is seeking clemency for three of its nationals who have been sentenced to death for carrying out an armed robbery in a private company in the Kingdom two years ago.
In October last year, four Sri Lankans were convicted of armed robbery and subsequently on March 10, High Court Judge Abdul Aziz Al-Musaikri confirmed the verdict pronouncing all four guilty of armed robbery and sentenced D.D. Ranjith de Silva, Victor Corea and Sanath Pushpakumara to death and Sangeeth Kumara to 15 years imprisonment.
It was proved that the accused had committed three robberies, and were caught red-handed while driving a municipal vehicle as municipal employees. The driver of the vehicle, a Bangladeshi, who was working for the municipality through a contracting company, had been shot and injured by the accused.
“We are requesting a pardon on humanitarian grounds,” S. Wijesundara, the charge d’affaires at the Sri Lankan Embassy, told Arab News. The embassy has also attached the appeals of the next-of-kin of the convicts, with the plea for clemency.
While in Al-Hair Jail, the four convicts embraced Islam.
“We have also received requests from the next-of-kin of the accused to make an appeal through a law firm in the Kingdom. We will be getting the copy of the judgment through the Foreign Ministry here and the mission will be acting on the advice of the law firm to seek legal redress,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has urged the Sri Lankan government to take urgent action to save the lives of the three Sri Lankans.
Last week, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), a Buddhist political party which has representation in the legislature, urged the government to intervene immediately to stop the possible execution of the Sri Lankans.
Making a special statement in Parliament, JHU member Athuraliye Rathana Thera said the AHRC had given all the information and the government should act immediately to save the convicted Sri Lankans.
