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Sivarasa Anojan, a young Sri Lankan working in Saudi Arabia, was accused of insulting Islam and a religious leader. The Al-Ahsa Criminal Court sentenced him to five years in prison and a fine of three million Saudi riyals. After an appeal against that ruling, his family revealed that the Saudi Appeal Court had increased the sentence to death.
As the case gripped the country, a wave of false and misleading posts began putting words into the mouths of politicians and journalists, several of them built to inflame tensions between communities. We checked three of the most widely shared. Here are the posts.
Social Media Posts – Claim 1
A post claimed that Deputy Minister of Energy Arkam Ilyas had commented on the case, saying, “Saudi Arabia is not a multi-religious country like Sri Lanka. Going to a Muslim country and insulting Islam cannot be condoned. He has received the punishment he deserved.”
Fact-Check 1
With Anojan’s case dominating mainstream and social media, a statement like this from the Deputy Minister of Energy would certainly have been reported. We found no mainstream outlet or credible official source reporting that he said anything of the kind.
Hiru News Never Published the Card
The post was designed in the Hiru News format, so we checked whether Hiru had published it, they had not.
Deputy Minister Arkam Ilyas Denied Making the Statement
The Deputy Minister’s official social media page also published a post stating that the circulating claim was false.
When we contacted his media secretary, he said the statement was entirely false and that the Deputy Minister had made no such remark of any kind.
Social Media Posts – Claim 2
Another post, carrying a photo of former Minister and MP Rishad Bathiudeen, read: “It was Buddhist extremists using Muslim names who informed on Anojan to the Saudi government; former minister tells his mother.”
Fact-Check 2
Mainstream media reported that MP Rishad Bathiudeen visited Anojan’s home in Natpiddimunai, Kalmunai, in the Ampara District, where he met and spoke with Anojan’s mother, siblings and other relatives. His remarks to the family were also reported.
Had he said what the post claimed, mainstream media would have carried it. We found no credible official source reporting such a statement, and it does not appear anywhere in the remarks he made while meeting the family.
Bathiudeen visited the home to express his own and the Muslim community’s solidarity, sympathy, and reassurance to a family under severe strain after news of the death sentence. His remarks at the meeting are below.
What Rishad Bathiudeen Actually Told the Family
He assured the family that he was dealing directly with the relevant authorities in both the Saudi and Sri Lankan governments to save the young man. He said he would bring all of Sri Lanka’s Muslim MPs onto one platform to make a special humanitarian appeal on Anojan’s behalf to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and King Salman of Saudi Arabia.
He also said he hoped to secure the intervention and support of the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama in resolving a crisis with both legal and religious dimensions. He added that he had spoken by phone with MPs Mano Ganesan, Shanakiyan Rasamanickam and Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, and stressed that all parties, regardless of ethnicity or religion, were working together to save Anojan’s life.
Rishad Bathiudeen’s Office Confirmed the Post Is False
We contacted Rishad Bathiudeen’s media unit, which confirmed that he made no statement of the kind described and that the post was entirely false.
Bathiudeen has also posted on his official Facebook page that he had begun collecting MPs’ signatures for a special letter to the King of Saudi Arabia, asking for compassionate consideration and a pardon for Sivarasa Anojan.
Social Media Posts – Claim 3
A third post attributed this statement to investigative journalist Tharindu Jayawardena: “It is military intelligence that emails the things Anojan posted on Facebook to the religious police in Saudi Arabia. What military intelligence is trying to do is start a Tamil–Muslim clash, topple the NPP government and bring back Sinhala Buddhist rule.”
Fact-Check 3
A claim this explosive from an investigative journalist would highly likely have been picked up by mainstream media and credible sources. We found no reliable source reporting it.
Because Tharindu Jayawardena comments actively on social media, we also reviewed his own posts and videos. He made no such statement.
What Tharindu Jayawardena Actually Said About Anojan
Jayawardena did publish a YouTube video about Sivarasa Anojan’s case, but nowhere in the full video did he say anything like the quote in the post. Instead, he explained that the government had announced it was following the legal process through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh and was working to protect Anojan’s rights.
He also said that Deputy Minister of Religious and Cultural Affairs Muneer Mulaffer had intervened personally, opening diplomatic talks to have Anojan’s sentence eased and bring him back to Sri Lanka. Steps were also being taken, he said, to secure the direct involvement of senior Muslim religious leaders in Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia.
The full video is here on YouTube
Tharindu Jayawardena Confirmed the Post Is False
Jayawardena posted on Facebook that the post was completely false.
When we contacted him, he also confirmed to us that the post was false.
How Sivarasa Anojan Came to Face a Death Sentence
The case began with an incident involving a dog during this year’s Hindu Pada Yatra pilgrimage from Jaffna to Kataragama. Sivarasa Anojan, a Sri Lankan working in Saudi Arabia, was accused of insulting Islam and a religious leader in a social media post and video he shared about it. He later deleted the post and released a video publicly apologizing, which mainstream media published here.
The Al-Ahsa Criminal Court in Saudi Arabia sentenced him to five years in prison and a fine of three million Saudi riyals. After an appeal against that ruling, his family revealed that the Saudi Appeal Court had increased the sentence to death. Related media reports are available here and here, and in English here.
The Government’s Steps and Statements on the Case
The Sri Lankan Embassy and its legal team were working with Anojan’s family to file a further appeal. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also issued a statement saying it was closely following his judicial process.
Beyond the legal steps, Cabinet Spokesperson Minister Nalinda Jayatissa confirmed that diplomatic talks were under way to seek a royal pardon from the Saudi King or a reduced sentence. YouTube
Written requests for support were also submitted to the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Sri Lanka, the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU), the National Shura Council and the Sri Lanka Muslim Media Forum. More details here.
Public protests calling for Anojan’s release have also been held in several areas, including Ampara and Hatton. More details here.
Update (22 September 2026): Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told Parliament that the death sentence followed an appeal by the Saudi prosecution and that the appeal Sri Lanka had filed on Anojan’s behalf was rejected. He said a delegation led by the Deputy Speaker would travel to Saudi Arabia to deliver a letter from President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to the Saudi King seeking a pardon, and that the government would bear Anojan’s legal costs in Saudi Arabia.
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Conclusion
The social media posts attributing statements about Sivarasa Anojan, the Sri Lankan sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia, to Deputy Minister Arkam Ilyas, former Minister and MP Rishad Bathiudeen and journalist Tharindu Jayawardena are false. Hiru News confirmed it never published the card used for the first claim, and all three men, directly or through their offices, confirmed to us that they made no such statements.
The government and opposition politicians are pursuing diplomatic efforts to have Anojan’s death sentence reduced or pardoned. Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told Parliament on 22 September that a delegation would carry the President’s letter to the Saudi King seeking clemency.
Title: Anojan Case: Quotes Attributed to Arkam Ilyas, Rishad Bathiudeen and Tharindu Jayawardena Are Fake
Fact Check By: BP Hansani
Result: False
