October 12, Colombo (LNW): A legal challenge to the death penalty imposed on Sri Lankan citizen Anojan Sivarasa has been submitted to Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court, following joint efforts by legal representatives from both countries.
The appeal was lodged on Sunday (11), after extensive discussions between a specialist Sri Lankan legal team and Saudi lawyers.
The process was facilitated through the Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh, under the coordination of Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, O.L. Ameer Ajward.
Sivarasa was handed the death penalty by a Saudi appeals court over a social media post deemed insulting to the Prophet Muhammad. The ruling marked a significant escalation from an earlier sentence of five years’ imprisonment imposed by a lower court, which was subsequently overturned on appeal.
In response, a team of experienced Sri Lankan legal professionals travelled to Saudi Arabia to assist with preparing the challenge to the ruling. The delegation included Additional Solicitor General and President’s Counsel Azard Navavi, President’s Counsel Faiszer Musthapha, President’s Counsel Upul Kumarapperuma and Attorney-at-Law Hafiel Farisz.
Several other officials contributed to coordinating the legal response, including Ambassador Ameer Ajward, Sri Lanka’s Consul General in Jeddah, Judge Mohamed Lafir, and Silmy Riyasdeen.
The legal team’s work has been complicated by travel disruption, with the lawyers currently unable to return to Sri Lanka after their scheduled flight from Riyadh was cancelled amid recent attacks in the Saudi capital.
As Saudi Arabia’s highest judicial body, the Supreme Court generally examines decisions made by lower courts, focusing on questions of law and procedural compliance. The appeal now places Sivarasa’s case before the country’s top judicial authority.
