Sri Lanka case against Swiss embassy staffer ends with small fine
The Sri Lankan embassy employee (seen here with Swiss embassy staff) was charged with "disaffection on the government and fabricating false evidence". She was granted bail in December 2019.
Keystone / Chamila Karunarathne
A local employee of the Swiss embassy in Sri Lanka accused of making false statements in a suspected kidnapping case has been fined the equivalent of CHF14 ($16) and ordered to pay legal costs of CHF5,000.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/Tagesanzeiger/jc
The Swiss foreign ministry welcomed an end to “almost four years of legal proceedings”, saying it would now analyse the Sri Lankan court verdict and decide if further steps needed to be taken. It did not provide further details of the verdict. A foreign ministry spokesperson also told Swiss news agency Keystone-SDA the ministry would cover the employee’s legal costs.
The woman employee was temporarily arrested in 2019 for allegedly making false statements about a possible kidnapping, and later released on bail. She was charged with “disaffection on the government and fabricating false evidence”. This came after the woman stated she had been dragged into a car by unknown persons in Colombo and held against her will so that she would reveal internal embassy information.
According to media reports at the time, the woman was questioned about a visa to a Sri Lankan police inspector who had fled to Switzerland shortly before. The inspector had reportedly been involved in investigations in connection with the family of the then President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.
The case caused considerable controversy and diplomatic tension between Switzerland and Sri Lanka. Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis telephoned his Sri Lankan counterpart and demanded a rapid clarification of the background to the incident. At the time, Switzerland feared for the rule of law in Sri Lanka and the health of the employee.
Popular Stories
More
Swiss Abroad
An eye-opening guide to Switzerland’s ear-splitting sirens
Tibetans and Uyghurs in Switzerland face pressure from China
This content was published on
Tibetans and Uyghurs living in Switzerland are probably under pressure from China and are being encouraged to spy on their community, according to the Swiss government.
Swiss federal accounts CHF2.5 billion better than expected
This content was published on
A deficit of CHF80 million instead of the budgeted CHF2.6 billion: for the first time since the Covid pandemic, the Swiss government has almost balanced its books
Swiss government specifies reconstruction aid in Ukraine
This content was published on
Reconstruction of urban infrastructure, restoration of secure basic services, continuation of emergency aid: these are the goals of the Swiss government in Ukraine over the next few years.
Swiss government wants to adopt Council of Europe AI conventions
This content was published on
The Swiss government wants to incorporate the Council of Europe's conventions on artificial intelligence (AI) into Swiss law.
Swiss government wants more leeway to export war materiel
This content was published on
The Swiss parliament will decide on whether the government is to be given more leeway in authorising exports of war materiel if the situation requires it.
Ai Weiwei expresses surprise at being turned away at Zurich Airport
This content was published on
The world-famous artist was stopped when he entered Switzerland on Monday evening because, according to the Zurich police, he did not have a visa.
This content was published on
Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the American "absence" on the executive board since last week makes him "sad".
Number of bearded vultures in the Alps could double in ten years
This content was published on
The bearded vultures in the Alps are currently doing so well that their population could double to around 700 animals within ten years.
Hardly any violations of minimum wage regulations in Ticino
This content was published on
A good 3% of companies inspected have violated the minimum wage in the Swiss canton of Ticino in the past three years, according to an official review.
Kidnapped Swiss embassy worker in Sri Lanka still unfit for questioning
This content was published on
The employee, who was temporarily abducted and threatened by unknown men on Monday, is still unavailable for questioning.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.