Sir Richard Branson writes to PM Wickremesinghe against death penalty

Renowned business magnate Sir Richard Branson has called on the Sri Lankan government to uphold its four decade moratorium on the death penalty.

He had made these remarks in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Prime Minister's Advisor told Times Online.

Mr. Branson's remarks comes following President Maithripala Sirisena's announcement stating that he has signed the death penalty for four inmates.

Taking to his Twitter handle, he also said that the Sri Lankan President must revise his decision by taking a cue from Maldives.

"Executions can be devastating and are never the solution," the tweet read. "The wonderful people of Sri Lanka deserve better than this."

Sri Lankan President @MaithripalaS wants to bring back the death penalty in Sri Lanka. I hope he takes a cue from the Maldives president and decides otherwise. Executions can be devastating and are never the solution. The wonderful people of Sri Lanka deserve better than this.

— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) June 26, 2019