Sri Lankan SC suspends execution till October 30

A week after President Maithripala Sirisena announced the execution of four individuals, Sri Lankan Supreme Court on Friday issued an interim order staying the implementation of the execution till October 30.

The order was issued by a three-member bench comprising Justices Buwaneka Aluvihare, Prasanna Jayawardena and Gamini Amarasekara, reported Colombo Page.

"The court will take up hearing the case on October 29 and in the meantime, the prisons department was asked not to implement any order by the president to carry out the death penalty," a court official said.

Sirisena had announced that he had signed a death warrant against four people who are convicted under drug-related crime, reported Al Jazeera.

The president said that the dates of the executions have been decided, however, he did not announce and added that the hangings should be a deterrent to the illegal drugs trade.

He also claimed there were 200,000 drug addicts in the country, and 60 per cent of the 24,000-strong prison population were drug offenders.