Overview
- Mano Ganesan on Saturday urged President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi to press Saudi leadership for a humanitarian resolution, citing Modi’s close ties with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
- Family and lawyers say a Saudi court first sentenced Anojan Sivarasa to five years in prison and a fine of three million riyals and that the punishment was later verbally reported to embassy officials as upgraded to a death sentence.
- Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry and the embassy in Riyadh say they are actively engaged with Saudi authorities, and the embassy is awaiting the formal written judgment before confirming the reported death penalty.
- Sivarasa, a Tamil from Natpittimunai in Kalmunai, travelled to Saudi Arabia for work about nine months ago and faces immediate legal peril because his counsel says the verdict can be appealed to Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court within one month.
- The case could test diplomatic channels between Colombo, New Delhi and Riyadh because any intervention or appeal will depend on official Saudi documents and may heighten concerns among Sri Lanka’s Tamil community and opposition politicians.