capital punishment in sri lanka essay

Lifting the Moratorium on the Death Penalty: A Sri Lankan Perspective

A moratorium on the death penalty actively captures 21st Century ideals – with international conventions and organizations actively campaigning for the abolition of capital punishment. However, the legalization of the death penalty in 14 countries, with 18 countries carrying out executions in the year 2021, demonstrates that member states are far from accepting of the trend for abolition. While crime remains rampant globally, is it only worse in developing and least-developed countries, and this remains true for Sri Lanka. This has pushed the state to consider capital punishment by lifting the moratorium on the death penalty. However, this lifting is not only a violation of fundamental rights, but may also not be as deterring as the Sri Lankan state would hope.

The route to capital punishment in Sri Lanka

After gaining independence in 1948, Prime Minister S.W.R.D Bandaranayake abolished capital punishment in 1956. However, it was reintroduced upon his assassination in 1959. This reintroduction was amended in 1978 and death sentences could only be passed if authorized by the trial judge, the Attorney General and the Minister of Justice, unanimously. Upon disagreement, the sentence would effectively be commuted to life imprisonment. The last known execution by the state was the execution of that of ‘ Maru Sira .’ Owing to his daring escapades from his prison cell, the guards drugged him a day prior to his trial resulting in him being unable to stand for the noose to be placed correctly around his neck. This resulted in a botched execution ceasing capital punishment in 1976.

Following the swearing in of President Chandrika Kumaratunga, there was effective campaigning to re-introduce the death penalty. However, this could not be done owing to immense public backlash. Circumstance arose nevertheless upon the assassination of High Court Judge Sarath Ambepitiya in 2004 as he headed home from work. This prompted the immediate restatement of capital punishment. In a recent attempt to drastically reduce drug crimes and sex crimes in the nation, the government has pledged to restore the death penalty . On account that the moratorium is lifted, executions will take place for the first time in 42 years.

Sri Lanka’s international commitments and human rights obligations

The stance of International customary law on the death penalty has evolved over the centuries, favoring the abolition of the death penalty. Sri Lanka is party to several international conventions such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the first Optional Protocol to the ICCPR; Recognizing jurisdiction of the Human Rights Committee and has additionally, voted in favor to several United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Moratorium Resolutions in the years of 2008, 2010, 2014 and 2016.

The policy followed by the ICCPR on the death penalty

Some governments conceal executions and enforce an elaborate system of secrecy to hide who is on death row, and why Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the UNO, 2017

Established as a multilateral treaty adopted by the UNGA, Article 6.1 of the ICCPR stipulates that states must ensure the right to life is inherently protected. At the forefront, human life is given prominence by the covenant, and states that are parties to the covenant are obliged to protect this fundamental right over that of the death penalty, which seeks to deny it. Nevertheless, provisions to derogate from Article 6.1 have been provided in Article 6.2 which allows states to implement the death penalty on the grounds that perpetrators have committed a ‘serious crime.’

The definition of a ‘serious crime’ is ambiguous , and cannot be narrowed down, owing to varying legislature across states. The most crucial interpretation stems from the statements of the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions. In this statement , it was established that the death penalty should be abolished for crimes such as economic crimes, drug-related crimes, crimes opposing moral values such as adultery and prostitution, and victimless crimes. Nevertheless, the Islamic states impose the death penalty for crimes such as adultery, apostasy and witchcraft, alongside Singapore that regards drug offences as a serious crime. While these states may not mirror the interpretation of the Special Rapporteur, they encompass the exception to the majority.

The stance of the United Nations on the death penalty

The death penalty has no place in the 21st Century Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the UNO, 2017

The UN is drastically inclined towards the abolition of capital punishment. Additionally, the UN upholds that countries that continue implementing capital punishment fail to meet international obligations in alliance with international human rights standards. Several commissions initiated by the UN have been established with the sole objective of eradicating the death penalty: the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) being the most significant. Among its efforts is the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR – which effectively calls for the abolition of the death penalty. This is the only universal international instrument that calls for the official end of this practice. Interestingly so, Sri Lanka is neither a party, nor a signatory to this convention. The question of being legally binding would adhere to parties of signatories of the convention only, thereby effectively excluding the state from liability.

Moratorium on the death penalty: UN General Assembly resolution adopted in 2016

The resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2016, with 117 states voting in favor of the resolution and 40 against, calls on states that have not abolished the death penalty to strongly consider abolition. Additionally, Section 7 (d) calls upon states to “progressively restrict the use of the death penalty and not to impose capital punishment for offenses committed by persons below 18 years of age, on pregnant women or on persons with mental or intellectual disabilities,” and further to “to reduce the number of offenses for which the death penalty may be imposed ”.

While the Sri Lanka Penal Code of 1885 prohibits the use of the death penalty on individuals below the age of 18, pregnant women, the intellectually disabled, and the mentally ill, the Penal Code does not restrict the use of the death penalty overall. Alternatively, the state imposes the death penalty on 22 offences – inclusive of Robbery not resulting in death, Kidnapping not resulting in death and Drug Possession; crimes considered ‘not so serious’ by the Special Rapporteur on Extra judiciary, Summary or Arbitral Executions.

In an analysis of countries that have not abolished capital punishment, the crimes punishable by death are very limited. In the United Kingdom , these crimes encompass murder, high treason, piracy, and arson. Similarly, the United States of America imposes the death penalty for crimes of treason, murder, and genocide. Moreover, the Islamic countries’ imposition of the death penalty is based on Sharia law, and the list of crimes punishable by death totals 14 crimes; a number much lower than in Sri Lanka. Accordingly, it is argued that Sri Lanka is in non-compliance with Article 7(3) of the resolution which requires states to impose the death penalty on the most serious crimes. Additionally, lifting the moratorium on the death penalty may signify to organizations such as the United Nations a seemingly backward stance adopted by the state.

The reasoning behind the then President’s agenda in lifting the moratorium

The reasoning pertaining to the stance of the President in lifting the moratorium on the death penalty is two-fold. Firstly, the alarming increase of drug related crimes in the state, and secondly, the rapidly advancing rate of sex crimes and sex offenders.

The alarming increase of drug offences in the state

My order is shoot to kill you. I don’t care about human rights, you better believe me Rodrigo Duterte, President of the Philippines, 2020

In 2018, the state made clear that drug dealers would be executed in order to “replicate the success” of the war on drugs in the Philippines . Arriving from a visit to the Philippines, the then President was so enamored with the apparent success of the state in minimizing crackdowns, that he was ready to ‘sign the warrants’ of repeat drug offenders. While this stance is rather extreme to an extent, the state may have justifiable grounds to be concerned – owing to the alarming increase of drug crimes and drug offenders during the years.

The drug epidemic in Sri Lanka has been a plague to the state since the year of 1980. This year in particular saw a growing cohort of opium and cannabis users, initially confined to Colombo and the South. In 1982, the Interpol confirmed Sri Lanka’s status as a transit country for the transportation of heroin in to Europe. Upon the confirmation of this status, rules and regulations were tightened to this regard, resulting in the amendment of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance of 1929 . This resulted in the enactment of legislation enforcing the death sentence for drug related offences, and the creation of the National Dangerous Drug Control Board to regulate drug control in the state. Additionally, 45% of the total prison population constituted drug offenders in 2020 as per the National Dangerous Drug Control Board.

Despite these efforts, the sale and circulation of drugs in Sri Lanka have only escalated in number. In 2018, the Police Narcotics Bureau confirmed that 48,129 people had been arrested in connection to the possession of drugs, and more than 2,975 kilograms of Cannabis had been taken in to custody. Further, a cache of heroin worth over 1.2 billion rupees was seized during a raid conducted in Kalubowila; reportedly the largest stock of heroin ever seized by authorities. Additionally, the Police Narcotics Bureau nabbed 278 kilograms of heroin estimated at a staggering 3000 million rupees . This cements the growing concern that the state effectively functions as a regional drug distribution hub in the South Asian region. The question of whether the most effective method of curbing the drug issue in the state is the execution of drug offenders however, is yet to be established.

The heinous nature of sex crimes committed

Apart from drug offenses, sex crimes committed within the state are also of grave concern. The rape rate in Sri Lanka as of 2013 was 10.6 cases per 100,000 persons. This rate has progressively increased by 6.57 % annually . Accordingly, there has been a public outcry demanding capital punishment for the perpetrators of this crime. Two incidents, in particular, were the rape and murder of Seya Sadewmi, aged 4, and Sivalokananthan Vidya, aged 18.

In addressing the rape and murder of Seya Sadewmi , the accused was sentenced to death by the Negombo High Court. Of immense significance was the public outcry demanding the death penalty for the accused prior to the hearing. This was given bearing by Dr. Sudarshini Fernandopulle, when she called for the immediate implementation of the death penalty – citing the case of Seya as a ‘special case deserving of this’. Additionally, the brutal gang rape and murder of S. Vidya drew nationwide protests – owing to the circumstances leading to her murder. Raped by 9 men, the case concluded at the Jaffna High court with 7 of the accused been sentenced to death. Protests vehemently demanding the death penalty for all of Vidya’s rapists were conducted in the Ampara and Trincomalee Districts.

Additionally, the citizens of the North attacked the houses and suspects on the day of the hearing. These protests upon turning violent, required the police to use tear gas to disperse the protestors. It is clear than in these circumstances, the public clearly expressed their desire for punishment in the form of the death penalty. The notion that justice was taken in to their own hands expressed clear frustration that justice wasn’t meted out as fairly as the people expected.

The public demand for capital punishment

From now on, we will hang drug offenders without commuting their death sentences Rajitha Senaratne, Spokesperson for the Sri Lankan President, 2019

Research conducted within the state established that ninety percent of the population approved of the President’s proposal to reactivate capital punishment in containing crime. International affairs student Sneha Devesundera was of the opinion that the death penalty would “stop rapists and drug dealers from operating.” Social scientist Dr. Nihal Jayatillake shared a similar perspective and he stated that he supported the reintroduction of hanging as it would “stop the crime rate.”

It is clear that the citizens of Sri Lanka strongly believe that the execution of rapists and drug offenders would create a crime- free society in the long run, but it must be remembered that this is merely perspective and opinion. It is essential that in validating these statements, an analysis on if capital punishment is an effective deterrent of crime needs to be carried out. The state has admittedly placed the needs of the people above that of international commitment. While this is a clear choice made by the Sri Lankan government, the violation of international conventions does carry consequences, and thereby an analysis on if there is an actual deterrent effect on crime with the establishment of capital punishment will follow.

Is the death penalty a deterrent for crime?

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind Mahatma Gandhi

In lieu of the gamble the state takes in prioritizing the needs of the people above international commitments, the question of whether the death penalty has a deterrent effect on crime rates must be addressed. Research conducted by the Death Penalty Information Center in the USA taking in to consideration a total of 50 states does not support the existence of a deterrent effect. Statistics demonstrate that the rate of murder in states that have imposed the death penalty have remained higher in comparison to states that have not. Additionally, the National Research Council of the National Academics in the USA concluded that the death penalty had no deterrent effect on committing or preventing murder. Additionally, 88% of criminologists in the world do not believe that the death penalty deters crime.

In a second analysis, research conducted by the Harm Reduction International Group provided similar results. As per 2011, the number of drug traffickers’ on death row in Indonesia amounted to 157. This number increased to 202 in 2012 and 260 in 2013. These statistics make it evident that despite the implementation of the death penalty and the rigorous enactment of executions, drug trafficking has not been deterred in the least. Another alarming concern common to many Asian states is the ability of drug traffickers even whilst imprisoned to commission their operation within prison. Thereby, regardless of the notion that these perpetrators are on death row, the crime is still very actively continued, making any plausible deterrent effect seem null and void.

In a third analysis, research carried out by the Pew Research Center in affiliation with Columbia Law School compared the murder rate in Hong Kong upon the abolition of capital punishment and contrasted these findings with the murder rate in Singapore which establishes a mandatory death sentence for murder and drug crimes. Statistics from this research demonstrate that the murder rate in Singapore was 0.2% higher than that of Hong Kong. This only cements the ideal that there is no deterrent effect capital punishment plays in influencing the rate of crime.

Hanging by a thread

With no apparent deterrent effect on the rate of crime, the consequences of violating international commitments and failing to adhere to human rights obligations would be immensely disadvantageous to the state. Regardless of the public outcry, lifting the moratorium of the death penalty would by no means curb the rates of crime as established in this research. It is integral that alternative measures are pursued in aligning with modern standards, and the state would do well to look into other means of eradicating drug crimes and sex crimes.

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Sri Lanka - Human Rights Council - Death Penalty - March 2017

• Sri Lanka - Human Rights Council - Death Penalty - March 2017 (PDF 1.3 MB)

The Advocates for Human Rights, in collaboration with the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, submitted a joint stakeholder report on the death penalty in Sri Lanka for the Human Rights Council’s 28th Session of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review. The report discusses the background of death penalty practice in Sri Lanka and suggests recommendations for fostering the formal abolition of capital punishment in the country.

Sri Lanka is considered to have a de facto moratorium on imposition of capital punishment, with its last execution in 1976. Yet Sri Lanka’s courts continue to impose death sentences, leaving the final decision to commute those sentences to the discretion of the President of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka’s Penal Code does not limit the death penalty to the most serious crimes as required under international human rights standards. Under the Penal Code the death penalty remains a potential punishment for the following offences: waging war against the state, including attempts and abetting such actions; mutiny of an officer in the military; knowingly giving false evidence in court that may result in conviction of an innocent person; murder; and abetting a suicide. Under the Code of Criminal Procedure Act, any offence punishable by death shall be tried by the High Court of Sri Lanka. The Court then forwards to the President of Sri Lanka the trial evidence and a report containing the judge’s opinion whether a death sentence should be imposed. The President may commute the death sentence or approve it and appoint a date, time, and place for the execution to occur.

Sri Lanka’s courts continue to recommend death sentences. For example, in 2016, a former Sri Lankan politician and four others were sentenced to death for killing a former presidential advisor and three others. Six police officers accused of murdering a Sri Lankan youth in 2014 shared the same fate. In 2017, a special committee established in 2013 to review the Penal Code with a view to abolishing the death penalty recommended that the President commute the death sentences of sixty prisoners, and the President followed that recommendation on the occasion of the 69th Independence Day of Sri Lanka. In 2014, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka published a Review on the death penalty. The Review recommended abolishing capital punishment, ratifying the Second Optional Protocol of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and converting death sentences into life imprisonment.

Commending Sri Lanka and its President for the de facto moratorium on the death penalty and recent mass commutations of death sentences, the joint stakeholders suggest the following recommendations for the Sri Lankan Government:

• Impose a formal moratorium on the death penalty, effective immediately going forward, with a view toward complete abolition of the death penalty.
• Abolish the death penalty and replace it with a sentence that is fair, proportionate, and respects international human rights standards.
• Ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR with a view toward abolishing the death penalty.
• Undertake a public education campaign about human rights, as well as about alternatives to the death penalty, in an effort to reduce public support for the death penalty.
• Amend the Penal Code to eliminate the death penalty as a possible punishment for any crime that does not result in death and in which the defendant did not intend to kill.
• Ensure timely implementation of the HRCSL’s Recommendation to Abolish the Death Penalty in Sri Lanka.
• Facilitate the work of the death penalty committee chaired by former Justice Edirisooriva to ensure that it issues and publicizes concrete findings and recommendations.

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Capital punishment in Sri Lanka

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Sri Lanka . [1]

Notable cases

However, there have been no executions since 23 June 1976, although death sentences were handed down continuously by the High and Supreme Courts for murder and drug trafficking convictions. The government decided to reinstate capital punishment in 2004 for cases of rape , drug trafficking and murder after the assassination of High Court judge Sarath Ambepitiya . Perjury that results in execution of an innocent person, treason , armed robbery , some military offences and certain crimes committed with the use of a gun (such as kidnapping , extortion , human trafficking , assault on a public servant) can also result in the death penalty. [2] [1]

The death penalty has a long history in Sri Lanka. The British restricted the death penalty after they took control of the island in 1815 to the crimes of murder and "waging war against the King."

After independence, then Prime Minister S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike abolished capital punishment in 1956. However, it was quickly reintroduced after his assassination in 1959. Opposition to the death penalty started to become increasingly widespread and the United National Party government modified the use of it in its 1978 rewrite of the constitution. Under the new arrangement, death sentences could only be carried out if authorised by the trial judge, the Attorney General and the Minister of Justice. If there was no agreement, the sentence was to be commuted to life imprisonment. The sentence was also to be ratified by the President. This clause effectively ended executions. The last execution in Sri Lanka took place in 1976.

In March 1999, after spurts of violence near the end of her first term in office, Chandrika Kumaratunga stated that the government would be reintroducing the death penalty. However, she was forced to back down in the face of overwhelming public protest. The issue hung in the balance, with all death sentences from then on being neither commuted to life nor carried out. [3] After discussions were held regarding the matter, the motion that commuted all death sentences to life in prison was revoked in January 2001.

On 19 November 2004, High Court Judge Sarath Ambepitiya was gunned down as he arrived home from work. He had a reputation for handing out tough sentences. The assassination immediately prompted Kumaratunga to effectively reinstate capital punishment.

With the end of the Sri Lankan Civil War the country saw a sharp rise in child abuse, rape, murder and drug trafficking, prompting some lawyers and politicians to call for the reinstatement of the death penalty. Newly elected President Maithripala Sirisena , in 2015, said he supports a dialogue on the introduction of the death penalty should it be approved by Parliament. The statement coming after a series of high-profile incidents of rape, killing and sexual abuse. [4]

The death penalty, if put into action, would be carried out by hanging at the gallows situated in Colombo . As of 2015, there are 1,116 convicts on death row. [3] [4]

In 2018, it was reported that Sri Lanka was going to reinstate capital punishment for drug dealers. President Maithripala Sirisena told the government, which earlier had unanimously backed the reinstatement of capital punishment, that he “was ready to sign the death warrants”. [ citation needed ] In February 2019, he told parliament that the death penalty for convicted drug offenders would be reinstated within two months. [5] On 26 June, President Maithripala Sirisena signed death warrants with the execution dates for four convicts with drug-related offences, the first time that executions were ordered in 43 years. [6] According to the president's office, the executions are meant to be a powerful message to those involved in drug trafficking. [7] In June 2019, the first two hangmen in 43 years were hired. [8] The country's president has also demanded the capital punishment for those responsible of the Easter Sunday attacks in the country.

• Maru Sira , criminal who gained fame through many daring prison escapes, executed by hanging on 7 August 1975. Originally he was sentenced to death in absentia for killing of a man in March 1974. The night before his execution, prison guards gave him Largactil in strong dosage in an attempt to prevent him escaping, but this caused him to collapse and his hanging was botched because the short fall caused by his slumped position, caused him to strangle instead of breaking his neck and killing him instantly [9]
• Talduwe Somarama , a Buddhist monk responsible for the assassination of S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike in 1959. He was executed by hanging on 6 July 1962. A fortnight before his execution, he gave up his robes, and two days before, he was baptised by an Anglican priest [10]
• Law of Sri Lanka
• Judiciary of Sri Lanka
• Human rights in Sri Lanka

Related Research Articles

Capital punishment , also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide , is the state-sanctioned practice of killing a person as a punishment for a crime, usually following an authorised, rule-governed process to conclude that the person is responsible for violating norms that warrant said punishment. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in such a manner is known as a death sentence , and the act of carrying out the sentence is known as an execution . A prisoner who has been sentenced to death and awaits execution is condemned and is commonly referred to as being "on death row". Etymologically, the term capital refers to execution by beheading, but executions are carried out by many methods, including hanging, shooting, lethal injection, stoning, electrocution, and gassing.

Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature. Hanging has been a common method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and is the primary execution method in numerous countries and regions. The first known account of execution by hanging is in Homer's Odyssey . Hanging is also a method of suicide.

Capital punishment is a legal punishment under the criminal justice system of the United States federal government. It is the most serious punishment that could be imposed under federal law. The serious crimes that warrant this punishment include treason, espionage, murder, large-scale drug trafficking, or attempted murder of a witness, juror, or court officer in certain cases.

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party is one of the major and most well known political parties in Sri Lanka. It was founded by S.W.R.D Bandaranaike in 1951 and, since then, has been one of the two largest parties in the Sri Lankan political arena. It first came to power in 1956 and since then has been the predominant party in government on a number of occasions. The party is generally considered as having a democratic socialist or progressive economic agenda and is often associated with nationalist Sinhalese parties. The party follows a Non-Aligned foreign policy but always had close ties to socialist nations.

Talduwe Ratugama Rallage Weris Singho , better known as Talduwe Somarama Thero , shot and killed S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, the fourth Prime Minister of Ceylon, who served from 1956 until his assassination by Somarama in 1959.

Capital punishment in Singapore is a legal penalty. Executions in Singapore are carried out by long drop hanging, and usually take place at dawn. Thirty-three offences—including murder, drug trafficking, terrorism, use of firearms and kidnapping—warrant the death penalty under Singapore law.

Capital punishment in the Philippines specifically, the death penalty, as a form of state-sponsored repression, was introduced and widely practiced by the Spanish government in the Philippines. A substantial number of Filipino national martyrs like Mariano Gómez, José Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, Thirteen Martyrs of Cavite, Thirteen Martyrs of Bagumbayan, Fifteen Martyrs of Bicol, Nineteen Martyrs of Aklan and Jose Rizal were executed by the Spanish government.

Capital punishment in Hong Kong was formally abolished on 23 April 1993 by virtue of the Crimes (Amendment) Ordinance 1993. Before then, capital punishment was the usual sentence given since the establishment of the Crown Colony of Hong Kong for offences such as murder, kidnapping ending in death, and piracy.

Capital punishment in Malaysia is a legal penalty in Malaysian law.

Capital punishment was abolished in Turkey in 2004, and no prisoners have been executed since October 1984. Before, the capital punishment was executed over 500 times. The method of execution was hanging.

Maithripala Yapa Sirisena is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the seventh President of Sri Lanka from 9 January 2015 to 18 November 2019. Sirisena is Sri Lanka's first president from the North Central Province of the country and does not belong to the traditional Sri Lankan political elite. He is currently a member of parliament from Polonnaruwa.

The history of Sri Lanka from 1948 to the present is marked by the independence of the country through to Dominion and becoming a Republic. Currently, there is a peaceful situation in Sri Lanka and the country is being run very well. The civil war in Sri Lanka ended in 2009 and there is no problem between the Sinhalese and Tamil people of Sri Lanka and they live in harmony. Sri Lanka's independence in 1948 made Sri Lanka the prosperous state it is today.

Being involved in the illegal drug trade in certain countries, which may include illegally importing, exporting, selling or possession of significant amounts of drugs constitute capital offences and may result in capital punishment for drug trafficking, or possession assumed to be for drug trafficking. There are also extrajudicial executions of suspected drug users and traffickers in at least 2 countries without drug death penalties by law: Mexico and Philippines.

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the United Arab Emirates.

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Jordan . The country had a moratorium on capital punishment between 2006 and 2014. In late 2014 the moratorium was lifted and 11 persons were executed. Two more executions followed in 2015, 15 executions took place in 2017 and one in 2021.

Capital punishment has been repealed in the U.S. state of Illinois since 2011.

S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, the fourth Prime Minister of Ceylon, was assassinated by the Buddhist priest Talduwe Somarama Thero on September 25, 1959, while meeting the public at his private residence, Tintagel, at Rosmead Place in Colombo. Shot in the chest, abdomen and hand, Bandaranaike died the following day at Merchant's Ward of the Colombo General Hospital. He was the first Sri Lankan national leader to be assassinated, which led to his widow Sirimavo Bandaranaike becoming the world's first female prime minister.

Palestine–Sri Lanka relations refer to the bilateral relations between the State of Palestine and Sri Lanka. Historically, relations between the two countries have been very friendly. Relations between Palestine and Sri Lanka started in 1975, when the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) opened up an embassy in Colombo. After the Palestinian Declaration of Independence on 15 November 1988, Sri Lanka and the Maldives were among the first few countries in the world to recognize the State of Palestine.

Capital punishment remains a legal penalty for multiple crimes in The Gambia. However, the country has taken recent steps towards abolishing the death penalty.

Capital punishment in Malawi is a legal punishment for certain crimes. The country abolished the death penalty by a Malawian Supreme Court ruling in 2021, but it was soon reinstated. However, the country is currently under a death penalty moratorium, which has been in place since the latest execution in 1992.

• ↑ "The Death Penalty in Sri Lanka" . Death Penalty Worldwide. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019 . Retrieved 12 August 2017 .
• 1 2 "With no one to execute, Sri Lanka's new hangmen to do light administrative work for now" . South China Morning Post. 14 October 2015 . Retrieved 20 October 2015 .
• 1 2 "Sri Lanka hires new hangmen for 'light administrative duty' " . BBC News . BBC. 14 October 2015 . Retrieved 20 October 2015 .
• ↑ Helen Regan (13 February 2019). "Sri Lanka advertising for executioners" . CNN . Retrieved 17 February 2019 .
• ↑ Guardian Staff (26 June 2019). "Sri Lanka planning executions after 43-year moratorium" . The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 26 June 2019 .
• ↑ "Sri Lanka president signs death warrants for four drug convicts to end 43-year moratorium" . CNA . Archived from the original on 26 June 2019 . Retrieved 26 June 2019 .
• ↑ "Sri Lanka hires first two hangmen in 43 years - BBC News" . BBC News . 29 June 2019.
• ↑ Ranasinghe, Anne (3 May 2003). "A case against the noose" . Archived from the original on 30 September 2007 . Retrieved 3 June 2018 .
• ↑ "1962: Talduwe Somarama, Ceylon assassin" . Retrieved 2 June 2018 .

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Examining the death penalty

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Cabinet this week approved a proposal to amend the Code of Criminal Procedure Act on capital punishment for minors, a move that has been welcomed by activists but also has shone a light on the continuing prevalence of the death penalty in general in Sri Lanka. While a de facto moratorium on capital punishment in Sri Lanka continues, the country is yet to take steps towards its formal abolition. Indeed, despite the moratorium, judges continue to pass the death penalty. This is primarily because in Sri Lanka, the death penalty is a mandatory sentence for certain crimes. As a result, even though no prisoner on death row has been executed in the last 45 years, there are at present over 1,200 death row inmates in Sri Lanka.  On the surface, the argument for the death penalty is a simple one. Crimes and the level of violence in Sri Lanka have undoubtedly increased. Therefore, the death penalty is seen as a deterrent and, in the cases of child abuse, rape and drug trafficking, a worthy form of retribution. There have been and always will be cases of the executions of innocent people. No matter how developed a justice system is, it will always remain susceptible to human failure. Unlike prison sentences, the death penalty is irreversible and irreparable. Moreover, the death penalty is often used in a disproportional manner against the poor, minorities and members of racial, ethnic, political and religious groups. Sri Lanka, with its already overburdened and poorly resourced legal system, would find it incredibly difficult to ensure that no innocent party gets sentenced to death. Such a legal process would also be time-consuming and expensive so not necessarily a faster path to justice.  Perhaps the most telling argument of all is that the death penalty violates the right to life, which happens to be the most basic of all human rights. It also violates the right not to be subjected to torture and other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment. Furthermore, the death penalty undermines human dignity, which is inherent to every human being. The death penalty lacks the deterrent effect which is commonly referred to by its advocates. As once stated by the General Assembly of the United Nations: “There is no conclusive evidence of the deterrent value of the death penalty (UNGA Resolution 65/206).” It is noteworthy that in many retentionist states, the effectiveness of the death penalty in order to prevent crime is being seriously questioned by a continuously increasing number of law enforcement professionals. Public support for the death penalty does not necessarily mean that taking away the life of a human being by the state is right. There are undisputed historical precedents where gross human rights violations have had the support of a majority of the people, but which were condemned vigorously later on. It is the job of leading figures and politicians to underline the incompatibility of capital punishment with human rights and human dignity. Capital punishment remains in the statute books but implementation was suspended more than 30 years ago. The Government’s current position on hanging is unclear, but increasingly it appears the people are for it. Yet, it cannot be denied that political patronisation, lack of resources, outdated laws and massive backlogs are creating a mockery out of justice far more than the lack of the death penalty. Social attitudes, too, need to change as society is responsible for the creation of criminals as well as rehabilitating them and re-admitting them to public life. Tougher laws should certainly be introduced for offenders but it has to come with an overall overhaul of the entire judicial system of Sri Lanka. The death penalty in and by itself will do little to reduce crime in the present environment. 

The death penalty in Sri Lanka: Infographics

The Centre for Policy Alternatives released a set of infographics on the death penalty in Sri Lanka.

There are 7 infographics in the series. They are available in English, Sinhala, and Tamil and can be downloaded here .

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