Saudi Court Sets Aside Sri Lankan Worker's Death Penalty — SkimNews
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Saudi Supreme Court set aside the death penalty for Sri Lankan migrant worker Anojan Sivarasa on October 13, 2026, referring the case back to the lower court where it is expected to be heard within two weeks with "a fresh sentence likely," according to senior lawyer Upul Kumarapperuma.
- Anojan Sivarasa, a 24-year-old Sri Lankan engineer from the eastern Ampara district, was originally sentenced to five years in prison for a June 2026 Facebook comment deemed to insult Prophet Muhammad, before the Saudi Court of Appeal in the Eastern Region escalated his punishment to death in September.
- Deputy Foreign Minister Arun Hemachandra credited "sustained diplomatic and legal efforts" by the Sri Lankan government for the ruling, announcing it as "a major relief," while Kumarapperuma, part of the legal team sent to Riyadh, confirmed the procedural outcome to The Hindu.
- President Anura Kumara Dissanayake called the development one that "brings immense relief to Anojan, his family, and all Sri Lankans," adding: "No Sri Lankan who leaves our shores in search of a livelihood should ever feel that they stand alone."
- Human Rights Watch reported that Saudi Arabia executed at least 356 people in 2025 — a record since monitoring began — and more than 2,000 over the past decade, "in many cases violating Saudi and international law."
- Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch both urged Saudi authorities to overturn the sentence, joining political parties and civil society groups in Sri Lanka that had campaigned against the ruling.
Why it matters: The reprieve is conditional: the case is referred back to the original court, with a "fresh sentence" expected within two weeks, meaning Anojan still faces potential punishment. The ruling came amid a record execution pace — Saudi Arabia put at least 356 people to death in 2025 — underscoring that Colombo's diplomatic intervention secured an individual outcome without slowing the kingdom's broader capital punishment machinery.
Ask SkimNews
