Sri Lanka arrests Swiss embassy staffer over kidnap claim

A Sri Lankan working at the Swiss embassy in Colombo, who sparked a diplomatic spat after claiming she was kidnapped and forced to divulge sensitive information, was arrested Monday for allegedly making a false accusation.

The Swiss embassy said the woman was abducted and sexually assaulted by unidentified attackers on November 25, a day after a Sri Lankan police inspector investigating cases involving the powerful Rajapaksa family sought asylum in Switzerland.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa currently serves as president. His brother and former president Mahinda is the current prime minister.

But Sri Lanka has steadfastly questioned her account and she was arrested after the country's attorney general recommended that she be named as a suspect.

The woman is suspected of "exciting disaffection against the government and fabricating false evidence to be used in a judicial proceeding," a spokeswoman for the attorney general said in a statement.

It was not immediately clear if the embassy staffer - who was questioned by police over several days and was subjected to medical exams - had been formally charged.