Sri Lankan gets death sentence for gang rape

Colombo : A Sri Lankan man based in Switzerland was sentenced to death Wednesday with six others for the gang rape and murder of a teenage girl in a case that sparked huge protests.

Mahalingam Shashikumar, a Swiss permanent resident, was also found guilty of leading a gang to abduct the 17-year-old schoolgirl and filming her gang rape in Jaffna district in May 2015.

A three-judge bench sentenced Shashikumar and his six accomplices to death and ordered them to pay seven million rupees ($46,000) as compensation to the family of the victim.

The case attracted international attention after residents complained that local police were trying to hush up the case and allow Shashikumar to escape to Switzerland.

Hundreds of people protested against the police, leading to the eventual arrest of the suspects. 

Jaffna's top police officer was later charged with subverting the course of justice and President Maithripala Sirisena vowed to ensure a speedy court hearing in the rapecase.

The assailants will have their death sentences automatically commuted to a term of life in prison since Sri Lanka has an unofficial moratorium on capital punishment.