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A woman faces being stoned to death after being convicted of adultery in Saudi Arabia - while the man she was caught with faces 100 lashes.

The married 45-year-old woman, originally from Sri Lanka, was working as a maid in Riyadh and was convicted of adultery in August.

But her partner, who was single and also from Sri Lanka, was given a punishment of 100 lashes after being found guilty of the same offence.

Upul Deshapriya, spokesman for the Foreign Employment Bureau said: "She has accepted the crime four times in the courts.

"But the Foreign Employment Bureau has hired lawyers and have appealed against the case.

"The appeal is going on. Also from the foreign ministry side, they are in negotiation with the Saudi government on a diplomatic level."

(Image: Rex)

Read more:More than 50 people convicted of terrorism to be 'executed in Saudi Arabia'

Saudi Arabia follows Sharia law which is criticised by human rights groups for carrying the death penalty for crimes such as adultery and drug smuggling.

Stoning, in which 'offenders' are pelted with stones until death is still carried out in some parts of the Middle East.

(Image: Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia, which is current chair of the United Nations Human Rights Council Panel, has executed over 150 people this year, mostly by public beheading, Amnesty International said this month.

Foreigners, mostly guest workers from poor countries, are particularly vulnerable as they typically do not know Arabic and are denied adequate translation in court, Amnesty added.

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Last month we reported how a Saudi wife who suspected her husband of cheating filmed him with his maid on her mobile phone.

She posted the video on social media with the caption: "The minimum punishment for this husband is to scandalise him."

But, she could actually be imprisoned for a year on defamation charges, due to Saudi Arabia's strict law.