In an escalating diplomatic row following the execution of a Sri Lankan maid in Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabi has recalled its ambassador from Colombo.

The official news agency SPA said:

"Based on the decision by the Sri Lankan government to withdraw its ambassador from the kingdom, the [Saudi] foreign ministry has recalled its ambassador in Sri Lanka for consultations."

The International Press Institute has called for an inquiry into the shooting of a Sunday Leader journalist, reported the Guardian.

The organisation, dedicated to press freedom called for an "swift and comprehensive investigation".

Meanwhile, Sri lankan police have "run into a blank wall", regarding the attempted murder.

Speaking on a visit of the country last week, Estonia's Foreign Minister has called on Sri Lanka to be open to an international investigation on alleged human rights abuses.

Estonia's Foreign Minister Urmas Paet spoke to the Sunday Leader, and commented,

The Sri Lankan Army has dismissed newly presented evidence of the murder of Balachandran Prabhakaran, which shows him alive and in Sri Lankan Army custody, stating they expect the furore over war crimes to "die down".

Military spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya confidently rejected any allegations of human rights abuses, stating,  

The European Union has stated they will support efforts to ensure accountability in Sri Lanka at the upcoming United Nations Human Rights Council session.

In a statement released by the Council of the European Union, it was stated that, 

Amnesty International has repeated their call for an international independent investigation into human rights abuses in Sri Lanka, in a statement welcoming a report released by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Released ahead of the upcoming United Nations Human Rights Council session, where a resolution on Sri Lanka is set to be brought forward, Amnesty International said,

An editorial in today’s Washington Post has accused Sri Lanka of “squandering opportunities” to heal the “ethnic rift” on the island.

Detailing the “retrograde” measures Rajapakse has taken, in spite of global condemnation, the editorial argues that threats to boycott or move the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo by the UK, Canada and Australia could send a “clear message” that the country’s policies are unacceptable to other democratic nations.

See extracts below:

"Having acquired a two-thirds parliamentary majority by inducing the defection of opposition representatives, the ruling party rewrote the constitution to eliminate a two-term limit on the president. Government critics in the press, civil society organizations and the judiciary have been threatened and sometimes attacked by pro-government thugs. According to Human Rights Watch, several thousand people are detained without charge, and state security forces have continued to abuse Tamil activists, including through torture and sexual assault.

The Sri Lankan General Secretary of the Free Trade Zones and General Services Employees’ Union (FTZ & GSEU), Anton Marcus, announced that the loss the European Union’s Generalised System of Preference Plus (GSP+) concessions to Sri Lanka has forced over 186 garment factories to close.

The trade union leader said that the number of factories had reduced from 835 to 500, resulting in the number of employees in the industry falling from 1 million to 283,000.

In a statement published on Tuesday, Human Rights Watch urged the UN Human Rights Council to dismiss the "tactics" of the Sri Lankan government and launch an independent, international investigation.

See here.

Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said:

The spokesperson of the US State Department Victoria Nuland has said the US continues to be “deeply concerned” about allegations of human rights violations in Sri Lanka.

Nuland said during the State Department's Daily Press Briefing that the US welcomes the report on Sri Lanka by the UN High Commissioner Navi Pillay and supports “a full accounting for all who are engaged in acts of violated international humanitarian law”.