A group of estate-sector youth staged a silent protest in Hatton yesterday (20), calling for a pardon for a Sri Lankan national who has reportedly been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia over a social media comment.

The protest was held at Malliappu Junction in Hatton and was organised by the Federation of Hindu Organisations, Sri Lanka.

The protesters called for the release of Anojan Sivarasa, a Sri Lankan working in Saudi Arabia who has reportedly been sentenced to death over a Facebook comment concerning an incident involving a dog during a Hindu pilgrimage from Jaffna to Kataragama.

The comment was reportedly deemed offensive to Islam and a religious leader. Anojan subsequently posted a video on social media apologising for the remarks.

According to information presented by those involved, Saudi authorities arrested Anojan after determining that his Facebook comment had insulted Islam and a religious leader. He was initially sentenced to five years in prison and fined three million Saudi riyals.

Parliamentarian Shanakiyan Rasamanickam claimed that the sentence was subsequently elevated to the death penalty following an appeal filed with the intervention of the Sri Lankan Government.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that special intervention is currently being made to secure Anojan’s release.