Politics · Sri Lanka Bureau
Saudi Arabia overturns death sentence for Sri Lankan Anojan Sivarasa
The Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia has set aside a death sentence imposed on Sri Lankan national Anojan Sivarasa, replacing it with a five-year prison term and substantial fine. The development brings relief to Sri Lankans who had campaigned against the capital punishment.
LSN Sri Lanka ·
Sri Lanka's expatriate community and civil society groups have welcomed news that Saudi Arabia's highest court has overturned a death sentence against Anojan Sivarasa, a Sri Lankan national whose case drew widespread concern in the island nation.
The Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia has replaced the capital punishment with a five-year prison sentence and a fine of three million Saudi riyals, according to reports reaching Colombo on Friday, 16th October. Sivarasa had been initially handed the death sentence following a Facebook comment that Saudi authorities deemed insulting.
The case of Sivarasa had garnered significant attention among Sri Lankan communities abroad and human rights advocates, who had raised concerns about the severity of the original sentence. His family and supporters in Sri Lanka have expressed relief at the court's decision to commute the death penalty.
The outcome reflects the conclusion of a lengthy legal process that has kept Sivarasa and his family in a state of considerable uncertainty. The revised sentence brings the matter closer to resolution, though significant time remains on his prison term.
Sri Lanka's foreign ministry had been monitoring the case closely given the national interest involved. The development is likely to ease diplomatic concerns that had accompanied the original capital punishment verdict.