PRISON WARDER LOOKS AT HIS THREE PRISONERS

COL01:SRILANKA-BRIDE:COLOMBO,31MAY99 – A prison warden (R) stands by three prisoners on May 31 after they were convicted and sentenced to death for last year’s rape and murder of an Indian bride. Rita Manoharan, 29, from Bombay, was on her honeymoon in Sri Lanka when she was abducted and killed last October. The three men (left to right) Ajith Fernando, Basil Mendis and Chaminda Kumara pleaded not guilty after a three judge bench of the Colombo High Court read out the verdict. Sri Lanka said in March that it resume executions, after a gap of 40 years, in a bid to curb rising crime. al/Photo by Anuruddha Lokuhapuarachchi REUTERS