The Sri Lankan government has already hired two hangmen who will become part of the executions of four prisoners convicted of drug offenses.
This is the recent development made known after its President Maithripala Sirisena made an announcement on the revival of the death penalty since it was put to a stop in 1976.
The Sri Lankan leader in February said the revival of such a measure was inspired by Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s strong arm campaign against illegal drugs.
Since his pronouncement of an all-out war against illegal drug dealers and peddlers, there were already a number of them either killed in buy-bust operations or were mercilessly killed by unidentified masked men.
The Department of Prisons in Sri Lanka already began its recruitment process last March after their last hangman quit in 2014.
Prisons spokesman Thushara Upuldeniya told Reuters in an interview that they have finalized its recruitment process and has already chosen two hangmen to do the job.
They will undergo final training for two weeks, the spokesman added.
The two newly hired hangmen were chosen out of 100 male applicants. The main requirement for their hiring process includes “mental strength” and “excellent moral character”.
No details were released on the identity of the four prisoners.
The news of their execution raised concerns on a lot of local and international rights groups.
A Sri Lankan journalist has filed a public interest litigation on Friday which seeks to stop any executions. The hearing is set on July 2.
