Sri Lankan housemaid's death sentence commuted

Saudi Arabia has commuted a Sri Lankan woman who was sentenced to be stoned to death for adultery to a jail sentence after an appeal by Sri Lanka, Deputy Foreign Minister Harsha De Silva said on Wednesday.

In a joint media briefing with Minister of Foreign Employment Thalatha Athukorala, de Silva said Sri Lanka had been successful in its appeal to Saudi authorities and had the execution order withdrawn.

The 45-year-old mother of two was sentenced to death by stoning by a Saudi court in Riyadh after she reportedly confessed to adultery with another Sri Lankan expatriate worker, who was given a lesser punishment of 100 lashes on account of being single.

The woman had been working in Saudi Arabia as a housemaid.

The government had provided legal aid to the domestic worker through the Sri Lankan mission in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia has earlier this month agreed to reopen the case and conduct a fresh trial following the Sri Lankan government's intervention.

Last month, protests were held outside the UN compound and the Saudi embassy in Colombo against the death sentence.

Some protestors also urged the government to ban sending Sri Lankans for employment to Saudi Arabia.