Sri Lanka President To Seek Saudi King’s Pardon For Tamil Youth Sentenced To Death

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will seek a pardon from Saudi Arabia’s King for Sivarasa Anojan, a Tamil migrant worker sentenced to death in the kingdom over a social media post allegedly deemed insulting to Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. The latest confirmation came as Colombo stepped up diplomatic and legal efforts to prevent the execution.

Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told Sri Lanka’s Parliament on Tuesday that Anojan’s death sentence followed an appeal by the Saudi prosecution. He said the prosecution had sought to have Anojan prosecuted under Sharia law rather than Saudi Arabia’s cybercrime legislation. A Sri Lankan appeal filed on Anojan’s behalf was rejected, Herath said.

The development marks a significant update from Colombo’s earlier position. On 18 September, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry said Anojan was undergoing judicial proceedings and that it was monitoring his case through the Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh. At that stage, the ministry had not formally confirmed reports that his sentence had been changed to death.

Anoj an, from Natpittimunai in Kalmunai in Sri Lanka’s Eastern Province, travelled to Saudi Arabia for employment around nine months ago. He was initially sentenced to five years in prison and fined three million Saudi riyals after being convicted over social media content considered insulting to a religion. His lawyer later informed the Sri Lankan Embassy that the punishment had been increased to capital punishment.

On Monday, Dissanayake met Anojan’s parents at the Presidential Secretariat and told them that the government would pursue both legal and diplomatic avenues to secure a pardon. The President said a formal written diplomatic appeal would be sent to the Saudi King, while Colombo would continue monitoring the case.

Herath told Parliament that a special Sri Lankan delegation led by Deputy Speaker Rizvie Salih would travel to Saudi Arabia to deliver Dissanayake’s letter to the King. He also said he plans to raise the case with the Saudi Foreign Minister during meetings next month on the sidelines of the UN Human Rights Council sessions.

The Sri Lankan government will bear Anojan’s legal costs in Saudi Arabia, Herath said, and will reimburse legal expenses already incurred by his family. Colombo is also seeking advice from Sri Lankan and Saudi legal experts on the case.

The case has also triggered political appeals in Sri Lanka. Tamil Progressive Alliance leader Mano Ganesan had earlier urged Dissanayake to seek Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention, citing Modi’s ties with the Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman.

Sri Lankan authorities are now pursuing multiple channels to seek a reduction or reversal of the death sentence, while diplomatic efforts with Saudi Arabia continue.