Death row Lankans appeal for mercy

“I tried to commit suicide a couple of times, but these people even didn’t let me decide my fate,” says Sanath Pushpakumara, a Sri Lankan inmate in death row in Saudi Arabia.

"I had enough of this suffering," he added.

Speaking from his prison cell at in al-Hair prison in Riyadh, Pushpakumara said the inmates have lost hope that they’ll be freed again to see their family members.

Pushpakumara, DD Ranjith Silva and EJ Victor Corea were sentenced to death in October 2004 after found guilty of armed robbery and threatening civilians.

The Sri Lankans believe they would be relieved of the death sentence if newly elected President Mahinda Rajapaksa intervenes.

Indonesians released

“Some inmates from Indonesia and Philippines were released after the intervention by their respective governments,” Pushapkumara told bbcsinahala.com.

London based Human Rights watchdog Amnesty International (AI) says it has reliable information that the fate of the Sri Lankans is soon to be decided by the Saudi king.

“The King has the power to grant clemency or ratify the death sentences of the three men. If the sentences are ratified, the men could be executed at any time,” said the AI statement issued on Monday.

Amnesty International appeal

According to inmates, one of the Sri Lankans in death row is suffering from depression as a result of being locked for more than a year.

“He even doesn’t speak much at the moment,” Ranjith Silva told BBC Sandeshaya.

The AI says the court proceedings in Saudi Arabia, which usually take place behind closed doors “fall far short of international standards for fair trial”.

AI said :”Defendants do not have the right to formal representation by a lawyer, and in many cases are not informed of the progress of legal proceedings against them. They may be convicted solely on the basis of confessions obtained under duress, torture or deception.”