Appeal against Anojan Sivarasa’s death sentence filed in Saudi Supreme Court

An appeal against the death sentence imposed on Sri Lankan national Anojan Sivarasa was filed with the Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia on Sunday (Oct. 11), following coordinated efforts by Sri Lankan and Saudi legal teams.

The appeal was prepared following several rounds of consultations between a special team of Sri Lankan lawyers and their Saudi counterparts, in coordination with Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, O.L. Ameer Ajward.

The legal process was coordinated through the Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh.

Sivarasa was sentenced to death by a Saudi appeals court over a social media post considered insulting to Prophet Muhammad.

A lower court had initially sentenced him to five years in prison. However, following an appeal, the appeals court overturned the earlier ruling and imposed the death penalty.

A special legal team from Sri Lanka subsequently travelled to Saudi Arabia to assist in preparing the appeal.

The Sri Lankan legal team 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.

Ambassador Ameer Ajward, Sri Lanka’s Consul General in Jeddah, Judge Mohamed Lafir, and Silmy Riyasdeen were also involved in coordinating the legal efforts.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan legal team is now stranded in Riyadh after its scheduled return flight to Sri Lanka was cancelled due to the recent attacks in the Saudi capital.

The Saudi Supreme Court is the country’s highest judicial authority and primarily reviews lower court decisions on legal and procedural grounds. (Newswire)

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