New Delhi : Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court has set aside the death sentence handed to Sri Lankan Hindu migrant worker, Anojan Sivarasa, over a Facebook comment deemed insulting to Islam and Prophet Muhammad. Foreign Employment and Tourism confirmed the development in a statement issued on Wednesday (October 14), saying the Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court set aside the death sentence on (October 13).
Footage showing a young Muslim man kicking a dog following Hindu pilgrims circulated on social media and triggered a heated exchange between users. During the online argument, a user posted derogatory remarks about a Hindu deity. Sivarasa responded in Tamil with a comment about Prophet Muhammad. He deleted the comment soon afterwards and posted an apology video.
The Al-Ahsa Criminal Court sentenced him to five years in prison and fined him three million Saudi riyals, approximately $800,000, over the Facebook comment, before the sentence was later escalated to death. According to reports in British and Sri Lankan media outlets, Anojan Sivarasa’s death sentence was put off due to a sustained diplomatic effort by Colombo.
Senior Buddhist leaders, including Mahanayake Theros of the Ramanna Maha Nikaya and Amarapura Maha Nikaya, and Hindu religious leaders had also submitted memoranda to the Sri Lankan president urging immediate intervention, according to the Tamil Guardian newspaper. The Independent reported that Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Omar Lebbe Ameer Ajwad, visited Anojan Sivarasa at the Dammam Central Prison, located 400 km east of Riyadh, on 8 October to enquire about his well-being after he was assaulted by his cellmate the week prior.
The Sri Lankan Government, led by the President and Foreign Minister, initiated diplomatic and legal efforts to challenge the death sentence. The Independent reported that the Sri Lankan government had assured his family that Colombo would spare no effort to obtain a pardon after meeting president Anura Kumara Dissanayake on September 21.
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