Sri Lankan Maid Spared Stoning Sentence In Saudi Arabia

A Saudi Arabian court has commuted
the death-by-stoning sentence passed on a Sri Lankan maid convicted of
adultery, Sri Lanka’s government said on Wednesday.

The 45-year-old married mother of
two would now serve a “short jail sentence”, said Harsha de Silva,
Sri Lanka’s deputy foreign minister, without giving any further details on the
exact amount of time that she would have to remain behind bars.

“We have succeeded in getting
the death sentence overturned. Our concern was to make sure that the original
sentence was not carried out,” de Silva told reporters in Sri Lanka’s
capital Colombo.

“The government of Sri Lanka
wishes to acknowledge and appreciate the good offices of the Saudi authorities.
The sympathy, understanding and the concern expressed, and assistance extended
by many other parties is also noted and deeply appreciated.”

The woman was convicted of
adultery in August after her arrest in April, last year.

She was sentenced to death by
stoning, while an unmarried Sri Lankan man convicted alongside her was
sentenced to 100 lashes.

De Silva said the Sri Lankan
government had not appealed on behalf of the man.