They were given 10 years at hard labor. Defense attorneys for several of the defendants said they plan to appeal the sentences.

VOA: standard.2009.12.23

On Monday,a Sri Lankan court sentenced Tissainayagam to 20 years of hard labor for causing "communal disharmony".

VOA: standard.2009.09.01

Yettaw was facing seven years of hard labor for an uninvited visit to Aung San Suu Kyi's house where she has been detained for most of the last two decades despite international pressure for her release.

VOA: standard.2009.11.02

But a section of the country's labor code states that women should not do "hard,physical" labor that entails harmful or dangerous conditions.

VOA: standard.2009.11.05