COLOMBO, Sept. 22 -- Five Sri Lankan media organisations have jointly appealed to the leadership of Saudi Arabia to extend clemency to Sri Lankan national Sivarasa Anojan, who is facing a death sentence in the Kingdom, and spare his life.

The appeal, signed by the Free Media Movement (FMM), South Asian Women in Media - Sri Lanka (SAWM-SL), Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association (SLWJA), Tamil Media Alliance (TMA) and Sri Lanka Muslim Media Forum (SLMMF), urged the Saudi leadership to consider mercy and compassion as Anojan's case proceeds through the country's remaining judicial processes.

The organizations said they fully respected Saudi Arabia's judicial process but stressed that the case also had a profound humanitarian dimension....