Muslim Council appeals for pardon for Sri Lankan maid

Dec 07, 2015 (LBO) – The Muslim Council of Sri Lanka has appealed to the King of Saudi Arabia to pardon two Sri Lankan individuals to be punished under country's laws.







The house maid is sentenced to death by stoning for the crime of adultery while the other respondent, a Sri Lankan male migrant worker is to receive 100 lashes.

The 43 year old woman, a mother of three, was to be stoned to death in Riyadh on Friday but the sentence was not carried out because the lady had appealed against the order with the assistance of the Lankan government. “The Muslim Council presumes that the housemaid and male worker were unaware of the law and cultural practices in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the Muslim Council said.





“Their illiteracy is solely due to their under privileged and marginalized socio, economic background at their home country, Sri Lanka, which denied them even the minimum level of education required to be aware of complexities in a legal and cultural system that is inherently foreign to them,” the council said. The council said while they respects the law of Saudi Arabia, they believes that on extremely humanitarian grounds the two convicted individuals from Sri Lanka deserve being pardoned.





Speaking in Parliament today, Foreign Employment Minister Thalatha Atukorale said they are looking forward to a positive response from the King of Saudi Arabia.

“Several Parties including Foreign Minister intervened into this issue diplomatically.

We can’t reveal everything now. But we are awaiting a good response,” Atukorale said.