October 04, Colombo (LNW): A four-member Sri Lankan legal team is set to travel to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday as efforts intensify to challenge the death sentence imposed on Sri Lankan national Anojan Sivarasa.
Additional Solicitor General Azard Navavi, PC, will lead the delegation, which also includes President’s Counsels Faizer Musthapha and Upul Kumarapperuma, together with Attorney-at-Law Hafeel Farisz.
The delegation is scheduled to meet lawyers from two Saudi firms handling Sivarasa’s case on Wednesday and examine the legal options available before the Saudi Supreme Court. The team will also work on finalising documentation required for an appeal and engage with relevant Saudi authorities.
Navavi said the delegation would use its visit to assess every available legal avenue for securing either a reversal of the death sentence or a reduction in the punishment.
The visit has been arranged in consultation with Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and officials attached to the Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh. Meetings and other discussions are expected to continue through Thursday as the Government seeks to strengthen its legal and diplomatic response.
The two Saudi law firms were engaged through the Foreign Ministry to provide legal assistance in the case. An appeal for relief from the death sentence is expected to be submitted through the Attorney General’s Department within the prescribed timeframe.
Sivarasa, a migrant worker from Natpittimunai in Kalmunai, was initially sentenced to five years in prison and fined three million Saudi Riyals by the Al-Ahsa Criminal Court over a statement posted on social media.
His lawyers subsequently appealed, seeking a reduction in the punishment. Saudi prosecutors, however, also challenged the original ruling and sought a more severe sentence. The appellate court later increased the punishment to death.
With the case now at a critical stage, the Sri Lankan Government is pursuing a combination of court proceedings and diplomatic intervention. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is expected to make a personal clemency appeal to the Saudi King, while a separate parliamentary delegation is also expected to travel to the Kingdom to convey the President’s request.
The Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh continues to follow developments and maintain contact with Saudi authorities as efforts to secure a favourable outcome continue.
Calls for Government intervention have also come from religious leaders. The Chief Prelates of the Ramanya Maha Nikaya and the Amarapura Maha Nikaya recently submitted a memorandum to President Dissanayake urging the authorities to take all possible measures to secure Sivarasa’s release.
