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When the Saudi Supreme Court set aside the death sentence of Anojan Sivarasa of Kalmunai, many Sri Lankans who had spoken out against the sentence welcomed the news. Soon after, a video appeared online claiming to show him arriving back home at an airport. It was captioned as his return after the sentence was annulled, and many people shared it believing it was true. Here is the post that carried it.
Social Media Posts:
On 14 October 2026, a post was uploaded on social media with the caption “Death sentence cancelled, Anojan at the airport”, translated to English from Tamil, followed by the hashtags #BreakingNews #NewsUpdate #tamil #TamilNews #betticola #muslim #newsfeed #Jaffna. Many people shared it, believing it to be true.
Claim examined: The video shows Anojan Sivarasa at an airport in Sri Lanka after the death sentence imposed on him in Saudi Arabia was annulled.
Fact Check:
No official announcement said Anojan had returned to Sri Lanka
The video began circulating after the announcement that the death sentence imposed on Sivarasa Anojan of Kalmunai in Saudi Arabia had been annulled. Deputy Foreign Minister Aruna Hemachandra announced that the Saudi Supreme Court had set aside the death sentence. However, there was no official announcement that Anojan had been fully released and had come to Sri Lanka from Saudi Arabia, and no mainstream media outlet reported it.
The airport in the video resembles Katunayake, and the clip was posted online in August
When we examined the video closely, the airport resembled Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake.
We therefore converted several scenes from the video into still images and searched for them. The search showed that Anojan’s younger brother had uploaded the same video to his TikTok account on 10 August. The caption read: “Brother 🥹 The last moments I saw you 🥹🫂 One mistake made you a completely bad person 🥹.”
Anojan’s younger brother confirmed he is still in Saudi Arabia
To get further clarification, we contacted Anojan’s younger brother. He told us that the news of his elder brother’s death sentence being annulled had given the family some comfort, but that they would be happy only when his brother returned to the country. He also said the family had still not received full information on what verdict had been given there.
The death sentence was annulled, but the case has not ended
In late June 2026, during a religious dispute in Sri Lanka, Anojan Sivarasa posted a comment on Facebook. He deleted it within 10 minutes and posted a video apologizing for his actions. However, screenshots of the comment were sent to his employer and to the authorities in Saudi Arabia, and he was arrested in July 2026.
On 27 July 2026, the Al-Ahsa Criminal Court sentenced him to 5 years in prison and a fine of 3 million Saudi riyals under cybercrime charges.
When the case went to the appeals court, the sentence was increased to the death penalty under Islamic Sharia law, in line with a request by the prosecution.
Rights groups called on the Saudi authorities to overturn the sentence. Many Sri Lankan politicians, social activists and members of the public then voiced their opposition to the death sentence. The Sri Lankan government and a special legal team worked with Saudi lawyers to take the case to the Supreme Court on appeal.
On 13 October 2026, the Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia overturned the appeals court judgment that had sentenced Anojan Sivarasa to death. With this, the death sentence was removed completely. Deputy Foreign Minister Aruna Hemachandra officially announced this the next day.
Presidential counsel explained what happens next
It is noteworthy that Additional Solicitor General and President’s Counsel Azard Navavi, President’s Counsel Upul Kumarapperuma and President’s Counsel Faizer Musthapha travelled to Saudi Arabia and filed the appeal in the Saudi Supreme Court through a law firm in Riyadh. After hearing this appeal, the Saudi Supreme Court overturned the appeals court judgment that had sentenced Anojan Sivarasa to death.
We contacted President’s Counsel Upul Kumarapperuma and asked what legal steps lay ahead for Anojan even though the death sentence had been annulled. We also asked whether the 5-year prison sentence already imposed on him remained in force or had been changed in any way. He told us that the Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia had ordered that Anojan’s case be heard again in the Criminal Court within two weeks, and that his future legal position would be decided at that hearing.
According to our research, the video shared as Anojan at the airport after the annulment of the death sentence was recorded when he travelled from Sri Lanka to Saudi Arabia.
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Conclusion:
Our fact check found the claim to be misleading. The Saudi Supreme Court did overturn Anojan Sivarasa’s death sentence on 13 October 2026, but there is no evidence that he has returned to Sri Lanka. The airport video shared with that claim was recorded when he left Sri Lanka for Saudi Arabia, and his younger brother had posted it on TikTok on 10 August.
Deputy Foreign Minister Aruna Hemachandra announced that the death sentence was annulled, but no official statement said Anojan had been released. His younger brother confirmed that he was still in Saudi Arabia. President’s Counsel Upul Kumarapperuma told us that the Saudi Supreme Court had ordered the Criminal Court to hear the case again within two weeks to decide his future legal position.
Title: Anojan Sivarasa Airport Video Shows His Departure to Saudi Arabia, Not a Return
Written By: S.G. Prabu
Result: Misleading
