Four-member legal team heads to Saudi Arabia over Anojan case
– A four-member Sri Lankan legal delegation including Additional Solicitor General Azard Navavi, PC, will leave for Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to pursue legal avenues to secure the release or reduction of the death sentence imposed on Sri Lankan national Anojan Sivarasa.The delegation includes President’s Counsels Faizer Musthapha and Upul Kumarapperuma, and Attorney-at-Law Hafeel Farisz. The team is expected to meet representatives of two Saudi legal firms handling the case on Wednesday (07) and discuss the appeal before the Saudi Supreme Court.Additional Solicitor General Navavi told the Daily Mirror that the delegation would finalize the necessary documents for the appeal and meet Saudi officials to explore possible avenues to address the case.Meetings and coordination have been scheduled from Wednesday to Thursday, with further arrangements being made in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, its relevant departments and Sri Lankan Embassy officials.The Foreign Ministry has secured the services of the two Saudi legal firms to assist with the case. An appeal seeking relief from the death sentence is expected to be filed through the Attorney General’s Department within the stipulated period.
Sivarasa, a Sri Lankan migrant worker from Natpittimunai, Kalmunai, was initially sentenced by the Al-Ahsa Criminal Court to five years in prison and fined three million Saudi Riyals over a social media statement.While Sivarasa’s legal team appealed seeking a reduction of the sentence, Saudi prosecutors separately appealed seeking a harsher punishment. The appellate court subsequently increased the sentence to death.The Sri Lankan Government is pursuing both legal and diplomatic avenues to seek relief for Sivarasa. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is also expected to send a clemency appeal to the King of Saudi Arabia, while a separate parliamentary delegation is due to travel to Saudi Arabia with the President’s appeal.
The Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh continues to monitor the case and coordinate with Saudi authorities through diplomatic channels.
Meanwhile, the Chief Prelates of the Ramanya Maha Nikaya and the Amarapura Maha Nikaya recently handed over a memorandum to the President, calling for necessary state intervention to secure Anojan Sivarasa’s release.
