Switzerland has summoned the Sri Lankan ambassador and demanded an
inquiry after a local embassy employee was "detained and threatened" in
Colombo.
Swiss officials said unidentified men tried to force the woman to "disclose embassy-related information".
The incident came after a top Sri Lankan police officer left, reportedly to seek asylum in Switzerland.
It is thought he feared for his safety after Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected president earlier this month.
Mr Rajapaksa, a former wartime defence chief, is accused of vast human rights abuses, which he denies.
What happened to the woman?
The Sri Lankan employee at the Swiss embassy was "detained against her
will on the street and threatened at length", a Swiss foreign ministry
spokesman said.
He said this was "a very serious and unacceptable attack on one of its diplomatic representations and its employees".
Switzerland had reported the incident to Sri Lankan authorities, he said, and was demanding an immediate investigation.
It also called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice and for
"the guarantee of the security of the Swiss representation in Colombo
and its employees to be fully restored".
The Swiss ambassador to Sri Lanka was said to have "conveyed" that message to the country's prime minister and foreign minister.
The Sri Lankan ambassador to Switzerland has also been summoned.
What's the background?
The Swiss statement made no mention of the police officer's asylum case.
The officer, Nishantha de Silva, had earlier been involved in official
investigations into criminal allegations, including some against Mr
Rajapaksa - claims the president has denied.
The allegations date to the 2005-2015 presidency of Mr Rajapaksa's
brother, Mahinda, who was a key figure in the election campaign and has
since been appointed prime minister.
Sri Lanka's Daily Mirror quoted a government minister, Bandula
Gunawardana, as saying the administration was not aware of the incident.
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The Rajapaksa family is one of the most powerful in Sri Lanka.
Supporters hail Gotabaya Rajapaksa for playing a crucial role in
crushing the Tamil Tiger separatist rebels and bringing to an end Sri
Lanka's long-running civil war in 2009, when he was defence secretary.
Opponents fear the return of the dynasty could spark a new crackdown on critics.
The government has put airports on alert and provided them with the
names of hundreds of police officers who might attempt to leave the
country.
Several journalists who were critics of the government when the
Rajapaksas last led Sri Lanka were abducted, tortured and killed.
Thousands of people, particularly Tamils, vanished in what have been
described as enforced disappearances.
Earlier this year, Gotabaya Rajapaksa told the BBC that war crimes allegations against him were "baseless".
