Switzerland slams embassy employee's Sri Lanka detention

The Swiss foreign ministry has criticized a lack of due process in the detention of a Swiss Embassy employee in Sri Lanka who said she was abducted, sexually assaulted and threatened by captors who demanded that she disclose embassy-related information. The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that it has criticized a 30-hour interrogation by police of the employee, Gania Banister Francis, over three days despite her being in poor health. A Sri Lankan court on Monday ordered Francis' detention pending charges of allegedly making statements causing disaffection toward the government and fabricating evidence.