Inspired by the ‘success’ and ‘effectiveness’ of the Philippines’ war on drugs, Sri Lanka wants to follow through by restoring capital punishment or death penalty for drug-related crimes.
On June 26, Sri Lanka hanged four drug dealers as a sign of bringing back capital punishment to the country after 43 years.
“From now on, we will hang drug offenders without commuting their death sentences,” Rajithna Senaratna, government spokesperson told South China Morning Post.
In 1976, Sri Lanka veered away from death penalty sentences by reducing it to life imprisonment.
However, drug trafficking is now a capital offense in the country and cases have been increasing in the previous years.
Drug-related arrests rise to 85,156 in 2017, two percent higher from previous years. The government has intensified its campaign against illegal drugs to avoid making Sri Lanka a transit of drug peddlers.
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena said that he was inspired to push through with restoring death penalty after his visit with President Rodrigo Duterte.
Police data show that over 6,000 people died in drug-related operations since Duterte took office.
Human rights groups criticize Sri Lanka’s move to bring back capital punishment.
PHOTO CREDIT: STATE GUEST. President Rodrigo Duterte and Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena toast to each other in Malacañang on January 16, 2019. Malacañang photo
