Anojan Sivarasa, the Sri Lankan detainee facing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, is in a stable condition, with a meeting scheduled for Friday (9) night between the Sri Lankan legal team and Saudi lawyers to finalise his appeal to the Supreme Court (SC), according to President’s Counsel Faiszer Musthapha. 

Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Musthapha said that the Sri Lankan Ambassador had visited the detainee in prison on Thursday (8) and confirmed that his health condition was under control, with no immediate danger to his life. 

“The Ambassador went and met him in prison yesterday and his health condition is under control. There is no danger to his life in any form,” he said.  

He added that the legal team, comprising Upul Kumarapperuma, Additional Solicitor General Azard Navavi, Hafeel Farisz, and himself, had been in continuous discussions with the lawyers handling the case in Saudi Arabia.

“We have been engaging in continuous discussions with the lawyers and we are trying to meet them tonight (9) to finalise the appeal,” Musthapha said.  

Explaining the legal strategy, Musthapha said that the detainee had initially been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment and fined three million Saudi Riyals by the original court. However, the Court of Appeal subsequently classified the offence as a hadd offence, resulting in the imposition of the death penalty. 

He explained that a hadd offence was treated under the relevant legal framework as an offence against God, making the case exceptionally difficult to dispute outside of the judicial process.  

“The purpose of going to the Supreme Court is to get the case sent back to the Court of Appeal on the basis that it is not a hadd offence,” he said. 

Musthapha said the legal team was seeking to challenge the classification of the offence and have the case reconsidered by the Court of Appeal, with the aim of securing a lesser punishment or, if possible, the detainee’s full exoneration.

“If it is hadd or blasphemy, there is no option. Therefore, we are trying to move it away from hadd and see whether we can bring it back to the Court of Appeal so that we can work towards a lesser punishment or try to get him fully exonerated. We are working tirelessly at the moment with the lawyers to get the death penalty removed,” Musthapha said, stressing that the team was pursuing every available legal avenue possible.  

Referring to the 2013 execution of Sri Lankan national Rizana Nafeek in Saudi Arabia, Musthapha stated that the case highlighted the importance of continuing efforts.  

“In Rizana Nafeek’s case, everyone thought things were fine, and then the execution happened suddenly; nobody knew about it until they executed her. That is why we are trying to do everything possible to see what we can do to save this detainee,” he said. 

Musthapha emphasised that the legal team was continuing to coordinate with the Saudi lawyers ahead of the Supreme Court appeal, with the immediate priority being to overturn the death penalty.