New Delhi: Anojan Sivarasa, a 24-year-old migrant worker from Sri Lanka, was sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia after he was found guilty of blasphemy against Islam and Prophet Muhammad in a comment he posted on Facebook.
The incident has sent shockwaves through Sri Lanka, triggering civil society petitions and diplomatic efforts seeking clemency for Sivarasa.
The migrant worker’s family has received no updates from him since 28 September. They have been instructed by Sri Lankan authorities to refrain from making further statements while diplomatic efforts are being carried out.
Saudi officials have not announced the date of Sivarasa’s execution, and timelines surrounding it remain unclear.
What really happened?
Sivarasa was prosecuted over an online dispute after a video of an incident during a Hindu pilgrimage in Sri Lanka gained traction on social media. In late June this year, the video showing a young Muslim man kicking a dog following Hindu pilgrims triggered religious debates online.
According to a BBC report, an online user commented on the video, making derogatory remarks about a Hindu deity. Sivarasa responded to the comment in Tamil, criticising Prophet Muhammad in turn.
Although Sivarasa deleted the comment soon after and posted an apology video, another user had already taken a screenshot. The comment was brought to his employer’s attention and shared with Saudi officials, leading to Sivarasa’s arrest in July.
Saudi officials seized the young man’s personal devices and deleted his social media accounts soon after.
The Al-Ahsa Criminal Court had initially sentenced Sivarasa to five years in prison, along with a fine of 3 million Saudi riyals ($800,000). Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told the BBC that the court had rejected an appeal seeking a reduction of the sentence, submitted on Sivarasa’s behalf.
The case took a sharp turn on 17 September after the prosecutors appealed for Sivarasa to be tried under Sharia law, as opposed to Saudi Arabia’s cybercrime legislation. The appellate court agreed to the prosecution’s request, handing Sivarasa the death penalty.
Sri Lanka engages diplomatic channels
Sivarasa’s family met Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on 21 September. The president assured the family that the government would spare no effort to obtain a general pardon for him. He has also instructed diplomatic channels to engage with Saudi authorities.
This week, a legal delegation from Sri Lanka is travelling to Saudi Arabia to meet Sivarasa’s local defence lawyers.
“There are two law firms in Saudi Arabia handling Anojan’s case. We are going there to meet the lawyers from these two firms, discuss the case and plan what can be done next,” lawyer Upul Kumarapperuma, President’s Counsel, told BBC Sinhala.
In a show of cross-religious support, senior Buddhist leaders, the Mahanayake Theros of the Ramanna Nikaya and the Amarapura Maha Nikaya, along with Hindu religious leaders, have also handed a memorandum to the Presidential Secretariat calling for urgent state intervention.
Human rights activists have raised concerns over the severe repercussions over online speech in Saudi Arabia. However, Anojan’s case is a rare instance of an online comment leading to the death penalty in Saudi Arabia. Death sentences are more common in cases of drug offences or murder.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)
Instances such as this completely unmask the extremist and fundamentalist beliefs and practices of Saudi Arabia.
It goes on to show that there is nothing called as ‘moderate Islam’. The term is an oxymoron.