Hatton youth protest against reported death sentence for Lankan in Saudi Arabia

A group of estate-sector youth staged a silent protest in Hatton yesterday (20), calling for the release of a Sri Lankan national who has reportedly been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia.

The protest, held at the Malliappu Junction, was organised by the Federation of Hindu Organisations, Sri Lanka.

The protesters called for clemency for Anojan Sivarasa, a Sri Lankan working in Saudi Arabia, who has reportedly been sentenced to death over a social media comment relating to an incident involving a dog during a Hindu pilgrimage from Jaffna to Kataragama.

The comment was reportedly deemed offensive to Islam and a religious leader. Anojan subsequently posted a video on social media apologising for the remarks.

According to information presented at the protest, Saudi authorities arrested Anojan after determining that the Facebook comment had insulted Islam and a religious leader. He was initially sentenced to five years in prison and fined three million Saudi riyals.

MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam has said that the sentence had subsequently been increased to death.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that special diplomatic intervention is being made to secure Anojan’s release.