Faisal and Upul to Saudi Arabia for Anojhan

President's Counsel Faizer Mustapha and President's Counsel Upul Kumarapperuma have officially joined the special diplomatic mission to save the life of Anojan Sivarasa, a young man sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia due to a post published on social media. It is noteworthy that these two President's Counsels have taken steps to spend their personal wealth for this mission, which operates under the direct intervention of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath, without receiving government funding.

The government decided on September 22nd to send these two lawyers to Saudi Arabia as special diplomatic envoys, requesting them to advocate for Anojan's life. Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath officially disclosed details of this decision to Parliament on the 23rd.

As the first step of this critical mission, the two President's Counsels met with former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed, a close friend of Sri Lanka, in the Maldives on the afternoon of the 23rd and discussed the relevant request at length. Mr. Nasheed, the first democratically elected President of the Maldives, is a renowned politician and human rights activist respected internationally.

During that discussion, former President Mohamed Nasheed stated that although Anojan's statement was serious in the eyes of the Muslim community, he is ready to advocate for the life of a helpless young man on humanitarian grounds. Accordingly, the former President assured that he would provide the maximum possible support for the process of saving this helpless young man's life.

President's Counsel Upul Kumarapperuma confirmed that the discussion held in the Maldives concluded very successfully and further stated that arrangements are being made for him to depart for Saudi Arabia in the coming days to advocate for Anojan's life.