Former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed has offered to assist in the case of Sivarasa Anojan, the Sri Lankan migrant worker facing a death sentence in Saudi Arabia.

Nasheed made the offer when President’s Counsel Faiszer Musthapha and President’s Counsel Upul Kumarapperuma met him to discuss possible avenues for humanitarian intervention, the Daily Mirror reported.

At the meeting, Nasheed told the two lawyers that while he considered Anojan’s conduct “deplorable”, he was willing to assist on humanitarian grounds.

Why an outside intermediary matters here

Until now Sri Lanka has pursued the case through its own diplomatic and legal channels. Nasheed was the first democratically elected president of the Maldives, a fellow South Asian and majority-Muslim state, and later served as Speaker of its parliament.

The report does not say what form the assistance would take, whether the Sri Lankan government has been involved in or accepted the offer, or whether Nasheed has approached any Saudi authority.

Where the case stands

Anojan was convicted under Saudi Arabia’s Anti-Cyber Crime Law over a social media post, and sentenced initially to five years’ imprisonment and a fine. On September 18 Sri Lankan authorities were told a Saudi appellate court had accepted the prosecution’s own appeal and raised the sentence to death, reclassifying the offence under Sharia law.

Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told Parliament this week that Musthapha and Kumarapperuma had agreed to provide legal assistance and to travel to Saudi Arabia at their own expense, coordinating with Anojan’s representatives there and with Saudi authorities to explore remedies. Because Anojan is registered with the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment, the government has said it will bear the legal costs.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is to write formally to the King of Saudi Arabia requesting clemency, with a special parliamentary delegation under consideration to deliver the appeal in person. The full official chronology Herath gave Parliament on Tuesday is set out in that report.