Saudi Arabia to re-open case of Sri Lankan woman to be stoned to death

Saudi Arabia has agreed to re-open a case and conduct a fresh trial for a Sri Lankan woman who was sentenced by a Saudi court to be stoned to death for allegedly committing adultery in the Arab nation, the country's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Harsha De Silva said.

Silva informed parliament on Tuesday that through the government's intervention, Saudi Arabia had agreed to re-open the case and the government would provide the woman with legal help.

The 45 year old woman, a mother of two, was sentenced by a Saudi Court in the capital Riyadh after she had reportedly confessed before court to have committed adultery with another Sri Lankan expatriate worker. Her partner, also a Sri Lankan migrant worker, was given a lesser punishment of 100 lashes on account of being single.

The woman had been working in Saudi Arabia as a housemaid.

The government had already appealed to the Saudi Arabian government to pardon the couple.

Protests were held outside the UN compound and the Saudi Embassy in capital Colombo last week against Saudi Arabia's decision to stone the woman to death with protesters calling on the UN to remove Saudi Arabia from the chair of the United Nations Human Rights Council Panel.

Some protesters also urged the government to ban sending Sri Lankans for employment to the Arab nation.

Stoning, a form of execution where a group throws stones at a person buried waist or chest deep in the ground until they are dead, is still carried out in parts of the Muslim world.

In 2013, Saudi Arabia beheaded a young Sri Lankan housemaid for the killing of an infant left in her care, rejecting repeated appeals by Colombo against her death sentence. Endit