Sri Lanka ‘porn stars’ arrested and bailed

LONDON - Seven people in Sri Lanka have been arrested and bailed after being accused of appearing in locally made pornographic films, according to the country’s police.

The faces of people accused of taking part were earlier published on the Internet with a police plea for help to identify them, reports the BBC.

“So far we have identified seven suspects out of 83,” a police spokesman said.

They say that the accused are believed to have violated the country’s anti-obscenity laws.

“They have been questioned and released under police surety. Investigations are still under way to identify others,” a spokesman from the Police Women’s and Children’s Bureau said.

The suspects face up to six months in jail or a fine of 10,000 rupees or both, if convicted.

The suspects were allegedly identified by photos obtained by the police from the now banned local porn web sites.

Police are now probing pornographic videos that feature Sri Lankans in order to identify the people involved.

They said stern measures would be taken against individuals who posted the videos on the internet and those who produced them.

Police have also appealed to people forced to appear in pornographic films to come forward, in addition to people who appeared unwittingly.

The Sri Lankan media has reported that some of the pictures released by police were in fact from private videos released by estranged lovers, while some appeared to have been secretly shot with hidden cameras.

One woman identified as starring in the films is reported to have fled the country after being targeted by sexual predators. (ANI)