Lanka maid on death row back home after pardon

A Sri Lankan housemaid who was sentenced to death in 2006 returned home after being pardoned.

A 'Gulf News' report quoted a Sri Lankan Embassy statement as saying that 38-year old Kanzul Maharifa Abdul Kareem was arrested on April 30, 2006, on charges of causing the death of her sponsor's wife by repeatedly hitting her on the head and face with an ornamental pot.

The Shariah Court issued her capital punishment in 2006.

The Embassy along with Sri Lankan External Affairs Ministry had been closely working on the clemency plea.

She was sent to Sri Lanka on July 31, the embassy said.

Sarath Wijesinghe, Sri Lankan Ambassador to the UAE, expressed his gratitude to the Rulers and the UAE judiciary.

"It is inevitable that these incidents do take place when people work in difficult conditions," the press release said.

Employees face problems mainly due to wrongdoings by unscrupulous agents, who cause rifts between employers, sponsors and workers, embassy said.

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