Sri Lanka’s opposition MP Mano Ganesan has urged President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to seek the help of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to secure relief for a Sri Lankan Tamil sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia.
The man, Anojan Sivarasa from Sri Lanka’s Eastern Province, had travelled to Saudi Arabia for work about nine months ago. He was prosecuted after being accused of blasphemy linked to a social media post, and a court initially sentenced him to five years in prison and a fine of three million Saudi riyals, according to his lawyer.
The lawyer has said the punishment was later upgraded to the death penalty, shocking Sivarasa’s family in Sri Lanka. However, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry has not yet confirmed the death sentence, even as the family continues to appeal to the government to secure his release.
Sri Lanka’s embassy is also taking steps to file an appeal in the country’s Supreme Court within a month against the sentence. Ganesan said Modi’s reportedly close ties with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman could help obtain humanitarian consideration for Sivarasa if India intervenes.
