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Sharp rise in death sentences in Sri Lanka highlighted in Regional Report

2025-10-10

A new regional report released by the International Federation for Human Rights FIDH reveals that Sri Lankan courts have imposed more than 180 death sentences since 2021, marking a troubling surge in the countrys use of capital punishment. The finding appears in Enduring Injustice A Review of the Death Penalty in Asia 20202025, published on the 23rd World Day Against the Death Penalty.

The report examines death penalty developments in 20 Asian countries and includes a full chapter on Sri Lanka. It notes that although no executions have occurred since 1976, Sri Lankan courts continue to sentence people to death especially under mandatory provisions for drugrelated offences. The 2022 amendment to the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance reintroduced capital punishment for methamphetaminerelated crimes, expanding its scope further.

The chapter also raises serious concerns about the arbitrary use of presidential pardons, particularly the contrast between pardons granted to individuals convicted of political killings and the denial of clemency to a woman who killed her abusive husband and a man sentenced as a minor. These examples, the report says, underscore the lack of clear guidelines or independent oversight in Sri Lankas clemency process.