Germany warns Sri Lanka risks losing its reputation

(FASTNEWS|COLOMBO) – Germany has warned that Sri Lanka risks losing its reputation if it goes ahead with plans to implement the death penalty.

Bärbel Kofler, Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid at the Federal Foreign Office, stated that she was extremely concerned by reports that President Maithripala Sirisena has publicly announced that four death sentences are to be carried out.

“I appeal to the Sri Lankan Government to continue to refrain from carrying out executions following a moratorium lasting more than 40-years, to which Sri Lanka itself expressed its commitment as recently as December 2018,” she stressed.

Kofler said that executions would be a considerable setback along the path towards a reconciled and peaceful society.

“The application of the death penalty damages Sri Lanka’s reputation, its ambitions in the area of human rights and the country as a business location,” she added.