President must halt 13 imminent executions for drug-related crimes: AI

• several sources have confirmed to Amnesty that newly-recruited executioners have been trained

President Maithripala Sirisena must immediately halt plans to execute at least 13 prisoners convicted of drug-related crimes, Amnesty International (AI) said.   

In a statement on Tuesday, the AI said preparations are reportedly underway to execute death row prisoners as part of the ‘so-called’ National Drug Eradication Week, between June 21 and July 1.   

The statement said while no official announcement has been made by the President’s Office, several sources have confirmed to Amnesty that newly-recruited executioners have been trained and that President Sirisena intends to resume hangings soon.   

“Executions for drug-related offences are unlawful. They do not meet the threshold for “most serious crimes”– such as an intentional killing – to which the use of the death penalty must be restricted under international human rights law.   

Biraj Patnaik, South Asia Director at Amnesty International, said they were dismayed by the reports that will see Sri Lanka surrender its positive record on the death penalty. “Executions will not rid Sri Lanka of drug-related crime. They represent the failure to build a human society where the protection of life is valued. The last thing that Sri Lanka needs right now is more death in the name of vengeance. The taking of a human life by the state is one of the gravest acts a government can commit. The severity of the punishment as a minimum requires complete transparency as a key safeguard of due process,” he said.   Amnesty International said it absolutely opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and is calling on the Sri Lankan government to halt all execution plans and establish an official moratorium on the implementation of death sentences with a view to abolishing the death penalty altogether.   

Sri Lanka is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which sets the abolition of the death penalty as the goal to be achieved by countries that still retain this punishment.