Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has pledged to seek clemency from Saudi Arabia for Anojan Sivarasa, a Sri Lankan national reportedly facing the death penalty in the kingdom over a social media post. Dissanayake met Sivarasa’s parents in Colombo on September 21 and said the government would pursue both legal and diplomatic avenues to seek relief.
Sivarasa was initially sentenced by a Saudi court to five years in prison and fined three million Saudi riyals over social media content reportedly deemed insulting to a religion. His family was later informed that the sentence had been increased to death following an appeal. Sri Lankan authorities have been engaging with Saudi officials and monitoring the case through the country’s embassy in Riyadh.
The Sri Lankan government now plans to submit a formal written diplomatic appeal to Saudi King Salman seeking a pardon. The Attorney General’s Department has also said legal steps will be taken to appeal the death sentence before Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court within the applicable period.
The case has drawn political and public attention in Sri Lanka, with calls for diplomatic intervention. A key issue remains the formal written judgment from the Saudi authorities, which Sri Lankan officials have been awaiting. The government has said it will continue pursuing available legal and diplomatic channels while providing assistance to Sivarasa and his family.
Conversation
Be kind and stay on topic. Comments are moderated; abuse, spam and personal attacks are removed. Report a problem