Sri Lanka has not executed anyone since 1976. The Sri Lankan prison authorities, on the instructions of President Maithripala Sirisena, have taken decisive steps to resume executions in the next few months. An advertisement has been published to recruit an executioner, the names of death row prisoners convicted of drug trafficking have been identified for execution, and a rope for the hanging has been procured. Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases and under any circumstances, everywhere, including Sri Lanka. Here’s why.
