An appeal on behalf of Sri Lankan national Anojan Sivarasa, who has been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia, was filed before the Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia today (11).
The appeal was filed through a joint effort by legal teams from Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia.
Several rounds of discussions were held between a special Sri Lankan legal team and Saudi lawyers to prepare the appeal. The process was coordinated by Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, O.L. Ameer Ajward, through the Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh.
Sivaraasa was sentenced to death by a Saudi Court of Appeal over a social media post deemed insulting to Prophet Muhammad.
A lower court had previously sentenced him to five years in prison. However, the Court of Appeal subsequently overturned that ruling and imposed the death penalty.
The Sri Lankan legal team involved in discussions aimed at securing the reversal of Sivaraasa’s death sentence comprised President’s Counsel Upul Kumarapperuma, President’s Counsel Faiszer Musthapha and Additional Solicitor General Azad Nawawi.
The delegation also included Judge M.T. Mohamed, Sri Lanka’s Consul General in Jeddah; lawyer Farisz Fazal Abdul Hafeel Mohamed; and Mohamed Riyazdeen Silmi, Coordinating Secretary to Member of Parliament Faiszer Musthapha.
