Swiss FM confirms embassy worker in SL abducted, threatened

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A local employee of the Swiss Embassy in Sri Lanka has been temporarily kidnapped and threatened by unknown assailants in what the Swiss Foreign Ministry has called a “serious and unacceptable attack”, Swissinfo news reported yesterday.

On Wednesday, the Swiss Foreign Ministry (FM) confirmed the incident and has told swissinfo.ch in a written statement that the woman was threatened in order to force her to disclose “embassy-related information”.

“Switzerland promptly reported the incident to the Sri Lankan authorities and is demanding an immediate and complete investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident,” wrote Ministry Spokesman Pierre-Alain Eltschinger.

The Sri Lankan ambassador to Switzerland has also been summoned to the foreign ministry in Bern, he added.

The foreign ministry has not said what the perpetrators were looking for.