• MP Rasamanickam demands answers on Foreign Ministry’s handling of appeal 

A Saudi Arabian appellate court has sentenced Sivarasa Anojan, a Sri Lankan Tamil migrant worker from Kalmunai, to death on a charge of blasphemy. 

Anojan, who is from Natpiddimunai, Kalmunai in the Ampara District, had earlier been fined three million Saudi Riyals under the original judgment handed down by the Criminal Court in Al-Ahsa, which had sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment. The death sentence was imposed on Thursday (17) following a decision on his appeal, according to the family.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment, and Tourism, in a press release on Friday (18), said that it had been closely following Anojan’s case and was continuing to monitor developments through the Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh, in coordination with the Saudi Embassy in Colombo. The ministry said it remained engaged with Saudi authorities through diplomatic channels and was taking steps to safeguard Anojan’s interests. However, the release did not refer to the death sentence.

The prosecution reportedly stemmed from an online dispute that began during this year’s Pada Yatra, the annual Hindu pilgrimage to Kataragama, after a stray dog that had accompanied pilgrims for hundreds of kilometres and was named Subramaniam by devotees became a social media sensation. 

A video showing a young Muslim man kicking the dog in Kalmunai triggered widespread anger and his arrest, before he was released on bail. The incident escalated into a heated social media exchange marked by inflammatory comments directed at different religious communities. 

According to Anojan’s family, a Facebook comment he posted during this period was subsequently brought to the attention of Saudi authorities and formed the basis of the charge against him.

Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) Parliamentary Group Leader and Batticaloa District MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam called for immediate intervention by the Government at the highest diplomatic level to protect Anojan’s life, and said he planned to raise the matter in Parliament.

According to Rasamanickam, the ministry’s Consular Affairs Division had informed the family that an appeal could be filed within 30 days of the original sentencing. However, legal advice obtained by the Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh had assessed the prospects of a successful appeal, or a reduction of the sentence, as extremely low.

The family paid Rs. 1,890,766 in legal fees, as requested, into an account identified with the Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ministry documents show the Memorandum of Appeal was filed on 24 August, although the ministry’s letter forwarding the appeal to the family is dated 16 September, a discrepancy the family says contradicts their earlier request for the appeal to be filed. 

The appeal names Attorney Adlan Abdullah Al-Subaie as counsel. However, Rasamanickam, citing the family, said a different lawyer had appeared in court and that the family had not been given that lawyer’s identity or contact details. 

Rasamanickam said he intended to ask in Parliament why the family was advised to appeal despite the embassy’s own assessment of low prospects, what risk assessment was made, who selected the lawyer who appeared in court, why the appeal and lawyer’s details were withheld from the family before judgment, how the legal fees were disbursed, and what oversight the ministry and embassy exercised. 

He said he would also ask whether the Government considered there had been a failure in the consular and diplomatic handling of the case.

“A Sri Lankan citizen’s life is reportedly at stake,” Rasamanickam said. “Every available legal, diplomatic, consular, and humanitarian avenue must now be pursued.” 

On Friday (18), Anojan’s family released a video appealing to the authorities to intervene on his behalf.