COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa is facing criticism after a telephone call he made on Monday to Sivarasa Anojan, a Sri Lankan worker reportedly sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia, was held on speakerphone in front of the prisoner's family and supporters.
On the call, Anojan argued that Saudi Arabia had no grounds to prosecute him over a Facebook comment because the exchange involved Sri Lankans and began in Sri Lanka. Some critics said Premadasa had exposed the words of a condemned man to the public without regard for his safety. Others said the call showed that Anojan had not expressed remorse.
Anojan's father, Thambiraja Sivarasa; his mother, Rasamanickam Yogalakshmi; his brother, Sivarasa Hamsithan; and other relatives and residents of his home area met Premadasa at the Opposition Leader's Office in Colombo to ask for his help. During the meeting, Premadasa telephoned Anojan in prison. He also spoke with Ameer Ajwad, Sri Lanka's ambassador in Riyadh, and Aruni Ranaraja, the Foreign Ministry secretary, about efforts to secure Anojan's release.
Premadasa told the family he would make every possible effort to free Anojan, regardless of ethnic or religious differences. According to reports of the meeting, he discussed the legal and diplomatic options open to Sri Lanka with the ambassador and the ministry secretary.
A Saudi court convicted Anojan on July 28 of two offences: producing and publishing material through an information network in a manner deemed harmful to religious values and public morals, and insulting the Prophet Muhammad. According to the judgment, which Jaffna Monitor has reviewed, he was sentenced to five years in prison and fined three million Saudi riyals. Prosecutors had sought a more severe discretionary punishment.
Anojan appealed. The appeal ended on Sept. 18 with a death sentence. Before the hearing, the Sri Lankan Embassy obtained legal advice that described the likelihood of success as "extremely low," according to documents reviewed by Jaffna Monitor.
During Monday's call, Anojan said the comment at the centre of the case was a reply to a Facebook post involving Sri Lankans and that the dispute originated in Sri Lanka. He asked why an exchange between Sri Lankans should lead to his punishment in Saudi Arabia.
Jaffna Monitor has found no basis for that argument under Saudi law. The July judgment indicates that the court treated the offence as falling within its jurisdiction because Anojan was in the kingdom when he used an information network to publish the material.
One commentator wrote that the conversation should have remained "private and confidential," particularly because Anojan was speaking from prison after being told he faced execution. "A man who has been sentenced to death would already be mentally and physically broken," the commentator wrote, arguing that making his remarks public could cause him further harm. The commentator also questioned Premadasa's political judgment, saying that speaking ability alone did not make a statesman.
Another critic accused Premadasa of turning a condemned prisoner's situation into a political spectacle and asked whether Anojan knew others were listening or had agreed to the conversation being shared. The same critic said that publicly insisting the dispute belonged in Sri Lanka could hurt Anojan when the priority was persuading Saudi authorities to spare his life.
Some Muslim commentators directed their criticism at Anojan. One said the call showed he had not expressed remorse for the original comment and was relying instead on the argument that Saudi Arabia had no right to punish him. In effect, the commentator said, Anojan was claiming that his post would not have been an offence had he written it in Sri Lanka.
"At a time when many Muslims are speaking sympathetically on his behalf, he and those representing him should act responsibly," the commentator wrote. The same commentator credited Premadasa's call with bringing aspects of Anojan's position into public view.
Anojan has been able to speak with his family from prison. On Sunday, the social activist Rajkumar Rajeevkanth said he had spoken with Anojan for about 10 minutes after Anojan telephoned his younger brother. According to Rajeevkanth, Anojan confirmed that he had been informed of the death sentence and asked that efforts to secure his release proceed urgently.
