OMM Redaksiyası
Sri Lanka is seeking clemency for Anojan Sivarasa, a 24-year-old migrant worker sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia over a comment he posted on “Facebook”, according to the BBC.
Sivarasa’s mother, Rasamanickam Yogalakshmi, appealed for mercy, saying she wanted her son forgiven and returned to the family. The case has prompted concern in Sri Lanka, where political parties and government bodies have joined diplomatic efforts to secure clemency.
The family has received no update on Sivarasa’s condition since 28 September. The Sri Lankan government has asked them not to make further public statements while diplomatic efforts are under way. Saudi authorities have not announced when the sentence might be carried out.
Death sentence followed prosecution appeal
Sivarasa was arrested in July after a comment he wrote in Tamil during an online religious dispute was screenshotted and brought to the attention of his employer and Saudi officials. He had posted it in response to derogatory remarks about a Hindu deity. He later deleted the comment and published an apology video.
His employer notified Saudi authorities, his brother Hamsidan Sivarasa told BBC Sinhala. Saudi officials seized Anojan’s personal devices and deleted his social media accounts, his brother said.
The Al-Ahsa Criminal Court initially sentenced Sivarasa to five years in prison and fined him 3 million Saudi riyals, equivalent to about $800,000. An appeal seeking a reduction in the sentence was rejected, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said.
On 17 September, Saudi prosecutors appealed for Sivarasa to be tried under Sharia law rather than the country’s cybercrime legislation. The appellate court accepted the request and imposed the death penalty.
Sri Lankan officials and religious leaders seek intervention
Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was taking all available steps to assist Sivarasa. His family met President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on 21 September, and the president said the government would make every effort to obtain a pardon, directing diplomatic channels to contact Saudi authorities.
Buddhist and Hindu religious leaders have also called for urgent state intervention. A four-member Sri Lankan legal delegation is travelling to Saudi Arabia this week to meet lawyers representing Sivarasa, MP Upul Kumarapperuma told BBC Sinhala.
Communication between Sivarasa and his family has stopped. His brother said on 28 September that Anojan had not called for two days. The family contacted the embassy and was waiting for an update, he said.
Human rights groups have raised concerns about severe sentences in Saudi Arabia for online speech. In 2023, Saudi retiree Mohammed Al Ghamdi was sentenced to death over social media comments, according to the United Nations. His death sentence was later overturned and replaced with a 30-year prison term, the Saudi rights organisation ALQST said.
The International Organization for Migration says Saudi Arabia has more than 10 million foreign workers. Rights groups say low-wage migrant workers can be particularly vulnerable in the legal system because of language barriers and limited access to proper legal representation.
