Faced with a resurgence in crime, Sri Lanka’s parliament yesterday opened a debate on whether to bring back capital punishment, officials said.
President Maithripala Srisena has said he would endorse the decision if parliament approves the move.
There have been more than 100 protests in the past three weeks advocating the return of the death sentence. Public pressure has mounted following a spike in crime, including the brutal rape and killing of a five-year-old girl in March and the murder of a 10-year-old boy last month.
Both the ruling party and the opposition appear divided on the issue, with some lawmakers saying the death penalty was urgently needed to curb crime while others spoke out against it.
Sri Lanka last carried out a death sentence in 1976. People convicted of murder and narcotic-related offences are often handed a death sentence, but it is very rarely enforced. Some 1,800 inmates sentenced to death are currently in prison.
Under existing laws, the president must sign off on each individual case, after which the convicted person is hanged to death.
