Sri Lanka court delays death penalty for four convicted on drug charges

Sri Lanka's Supreme Court has issued an injunction until October 30 against the death penalty for four people convicted of drug-related offences, a lawyer representing one of the petitioners in the case told Reuters on Friday.

President Maithripala Sirisena last month signed death sentences for the four convicted on charges of trading and trafficking in drugs, ending a moratorium on capital punishment since 1976.

Human rights groups, Britain, Canada, the European Union and United Nations have raised concerns about the restoration of capital punishment on the Indian Ocean island.