Sri Lanka, Oct. 13 -- The Court of Appeal set aside the conviction and 12-year rigorous imprisonment sentence imposed on a man for grave sexual abuse. The Court held that the medical evidence and other inconsistencies in the prosecution's case had raised a reasonable doubt about his guilt.

In its judgment, the Court placed particular emphasis on a sexually transmitted infection (STI) report relating to the accused, which stated there was no evidence of sexually transmitted infections at the time of the examination.

The prosecution had relied on medical evidence indicating that the 13-year-old victim had physical signs consistent with Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 (HSV-2), commonly associated with genital herpes. The prosecution maintained...