PRESS RELEASE
AHRC-PL-21-2005

Sri Lankan president urged to seek Saudi king's clemency for 3 workers

(Hong Kong, April 8, 2005) The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) on Friday urged Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga to appeal to Saudi Arabia for clemency for three workers facing imminent death for robbery offences in Riyadh.

The Sri Lankan leader must act immediately to save the lives of her three fellow countrymen detained in Al Nayad prison in the Saudi capital, the Kong Kong-based regional human rights group said.

"Our inquiries into the workings of the Saudi Arabian system indicate clearly that if a request comes from the head of the state of the country to which the prisoners belong, it will be given a serious hearing by the highest authorities in Saudi Arabia," the AHRC said in a statement.

"We earnestly urge Her Excellency, the president of Sri Lanka, to intervene in this matter by way of immediate dialogue with the head of state of Saudi Arabia, His Majesty the King," the rights group noted.

The three Sri Lankan migrant workers, E.J.V. Corea, D.D. Ranjith de Silva and Sanath Pushpakumara, were sentenced to death for robbery offences in Saudi Arabia.

It is understood that their executions may not be carried out before Monday.

The trio reportedly did not get a fair trial as they had no legal representation during the court proceedings and no witnesses were called to the stand.

The AHRC has written directly to King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, pleading him to spare the lives of the three men.

"We are most concerned that these three men have not been able to defend themselves properly in a court of law," said Basil Fernando, the AHRC executive director.

"We plead for His Excellency's mercy and urge him to commute the men's death sentences," Fernando said.

In its statement on Friday, the AHRC said even if the three men were found guilty of the crimes they were alleged to have committed, that would not warrant the death sentence in Sri Lanka were they to commit them there.

"Therefore, there are very valid reasons to request clemency," the AHRC said.

It will be too late for the three men if they have to wait for legal assistance from Sri Lanka's Foreign Ministry to hire lawyers from Saudi Arabia to seek avenues to review their death penalties, the group said.

"If the executions are carried out before such a review takes place, the three persons will not benefit from the actions proposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," it noted.

The AHRC also warned if the Sri Lankan president failed to intervene in the case, the public would believe the government did not care about the migrant workers and that could have a deep demoralising impact on the rest of the working population of 350,000 in Saudi Arabia.

Kumaratunga must come out strongly in support of clemency if people are to believe that the Sri Lankan government values the lives of all its citizens, whether they are at home or abroad, the group urged.

Otherwise, it could create a negative political impression within Sri Lanka and be "a slur on the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka to have the impression that the sacrifice of all rights and decencies is part of the bargain for foreign business," the group said. 

As for the families of the three men, they depend on the president's intervention to ease their anxieties and help maintain their confidence in the country's political system.
 
"In their hour of extreme distress, they would want to believe that their government and the head of the state are doing their utmost to arrive at a reasonable solution to this problem," the AHRC said.

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About AHRC The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.