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Sri Lankan president expects to implement capital punishment

Sri Lankan President Maithriapala Sirisena said that he is expecting to approve capital punishment on the island by next year, if he receives parliamentary approval.

Speaking in Galle today the president said that though he did not have to seek parliamentary approval, he would do consult with parliament and seek its opinion.

Earlier this year, whilst meeting with Buddhist monks Sri Lanka’s Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe also stated that his government was prepared to implement capital punishment in order to put a halt to an increase in crime.

Mr Sirisena stated that the powers vested in him allowed him to implement the death penalty and pointed to other countries that use “gallows, electric chairs and lethal injection” reports Adaderana.

His comments contradict that of Sri Lankan Foreign Minsiter Mangala Samaraweera earlier this week, who told the UN Human Rights Council that Sri Lanka is would "maintain the moratorium on the death penalty with a view to its ultimate abolition".

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