A murderer sentenced to death is sworn in as a parliamentarian in Sri Lanka!

A Sri Lankan politician was able to run in Parliament elections and win a seat in Parliament after he was sentenced to death for premeditated murder, according to The Guardian newspaper.

Primalal Jayasekara, 45, of the ruling Sri Lanka Bodujana Piramona party, was sworn in as a deputy, becoming the first convict to take the oath amid criticism from the opposition, as he was escorted from prison to Parliament.

Jayasekara managed to run in the elections and win his seat, since his conviction and sentence came after the parliamentary nominations on August 5.

The prison authorities refused to allow the convicted parliamentarian to leave, to attend the first parliament session on August 20, but he submitted a petition to the Appeals Court, which ruled on the day before yesterday, that he should be escorted from prison to exercise his rights as a deputy.

The deputy attended yesterday's session, and is scheduled to return to prison after the end of the session.

Opponents criticized the move, and expressed their rejection of it by wearing a black scarf, while others withdrew from the session, during which Primalal was sworn in.

It is reported that Jayasekara shot an opposition activist in early 2015, during an election event, which resulted in his death, and accordingly the court sentenced him to death.