This archive report was first published on 19 December 2019.
On December 19, 2019, a Sri Lankan national working for the Swiss mission in Colombo was arrested for allegedly falsely claiming she had been abducted and sexually assaulted by unidentified attackers on November 25.
The alleged abduction occurred a day after a Sri Lankan police inspector investigating cases involving the Rajapaksa family sought asylum in Switzerland.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was elected president last month, told Colombo-based foreign correspondents that he was the real 'victim' of the saga.
'In this case, the victim is me because immediately after my election, this story came up,' he said, giving details of the Swiss embassy staffer's movements on the day she claimed she was held against her will.
'It is very clear it is a planned thing to discredit me and the government.'
Rajapaksa denied any involvement in the alleged kidnap claim and insisted he did not want anyone to create tensions between the two countries.
Switzerland criticized the embassy worker's arrest and 'lack of due process in the case', and asked for evidence that she had faked her claims.
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis spoke to his Sri Lankan counterpart Dinesh Gunawardena about the case.
