To His Majesty

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques

King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

King of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

 

Your Majesty,

 

With the utmost respect and humility, we write to Your Majesty to appeal for mercy, compassion, and royal clemency for Mr. Sivarasa Anojan, a Sri Lankan citizen and member of the Eelam Tamil community, who has been sentenced to death in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

 

We fully respect the sovereignty, laws, judicial institutions, religious values, and traditions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We do not write to challenge the decision of the courts. Rather, we come before Your Majesty with humility to plead for the precious gift of mercy and an opportunity for this young man to live, repent, and rebuild his life.

 

We understand that the case concerns conduct regarded as defamatory or deeply disrespectful towards the great religion of Islam. We sincerely regret and condemn any words or actions that caused hurt, offence, or disrespect to Islam and to the Muslim community.

 

As members of the Eelam Tamil community, we express our profound sorrow over this incident. We offer our sincere and heartfelt apologies to Your Majesty, to the people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and to Muslims who were hurt or offended by his actions.

 

We respectfully ask Your Majesty to consider that his actions may have arisen from youthful immaturity, poor judgment, and a failure to appreciate the seriousness and consequences of what he was doing, rather than from a mature intention to cause profound religious hurt. We do not seek to excuse the conduct. We only humbly ask that one grave mistake should not ultimately cost him his life.

 

Your Majesty, we beg for mercy.

 

The loss of this young man's life would bring immeasurable grief to his family and loved ones. If his life is spared, he will have the opportunity to reflect upon his actions, sincerely repent, seek forgiveness, and spend the remainder of his life understanding the importance of respecting the faith and beliefs of others.

 

Islam itself places great importance upon mercy, compassion, repentance, and forgiveness. It is in that spirit of mercy that we respectfully place this appeal before Your Majesty.

 

On behalf of concerned members of the Eelam Tamil community, we humbly request that Your Majesty exercise whatever powers of clemency are lawfully available and pardon Mr. Sivarasa Anojan, commute his death sentence, or otherwise spare his life.

 

We respectfully ask Your Majesty to look upon this appeal not merely as a legal matter, but as a humanitarian plea from a frightened family and a concerned community asking for a second chance for one human life.

 

We assure Your Majesty that our appeal is made with the highest respect for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and for the Islamic faith. We deeply regret the incident and any pain or offence it has caused.

 

Your Majesty, we humbly ask for forgiveness. We plead for compassion. Above all, we beg Your Majesty to spare the life of Mr. Sivarasa Anojan and grant him the opportunity to repent and begin his life again.

 

May Almighty God continue to grant Your Majesty wisdom, good health, and strength, and may the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its people continue to enjoy peace and prosperity.

 

With the deepest respect and humility,

 

Yours faithfully,