A Lebanese man and his Syrian wife were sentenced to death by a Kuwaiti court on Sunday for the murder of their Filipina maid, in a case that had triggered a diplomatic crisis between Kuwait and the Philippines. The court issued the sentence in the first hearing in the case of Joanna Demafelis, the 29-year-old maid whose body was found in a freezer in Kuwait earlier this year. The Lebanese-Syrian couple was arrested in February in the Syrian capital Damascus following an Interpol manhunt. They were sentenced in absentia by the court. The sentencing can still be appealed if the couple returns to Kuwait, a judicial source told AFP on condition of anonymity. Syrian authorities handed the husband, Nader Essam Assaf, over to Lebanese authorities, while his Syrian wife remained in custody in Damascus. Philippines Ambassador Renato Pedro Villa declined to comment on the verdict, telling AFP his country would await the rendition of the convicts. Philippines Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Sarah Arriola on Sunday was scheduled to hold talks with officials in Kuwait on conditions for Filipino workers, including labor law violations. The Demafelis murder prompted Manila to impose a departure ban for its citizens planning to work in the Gulf state. An estimated 252,000 Filipinos and Filipinas work in Kuwait and depend on remittances to help their families back home. In the wake of the Demafelis murder, Manila has been working to facilitate the return of its nationals who wish to leave, including those who have lost their residency status. Lebanese media had reported in March that authorities were studying the Kuwaiti request to hand over Assaf to the Gulf country. Deputy Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Khalid al-Jarallah had confirmed that his country had made this request through Interpol. The Lebanese authorities have received the request and coordination is underway in the issue to ensure that the couple gets a fair trial.