Saudi Arabia Sentences Sri Lankan Worker To Death Over Facebook Comment

A 24-year-old Sri Lankan migrant worker is facing execution in Saudi Arabia after an appellate court sentenced him to death over a Facebook comment deemed blasphemous, according to the BBC.

Anoján Sivarasa was initially sentenced to five years in prison and fined three million Saudi riyals under the country’s cybercrime law.

However, his case took a dramatic turn on September 17 when prosecutors appealed the ruling and sought a harsher punishment. The appellate court subsequently replaced the original sentence with a death sentence.

Humanists UK has urged the British government to intervene, launching a petition calling for action to secure Sivarasa’s release and prevent his execution.

The organisation said Sivarasa was convicted after making an offensive comment about Islam and Prophet Muhammad during an argument over religion on social media.

According to reports, the dispute began after another social media user made derogatory comments about a Hindu deity. Sivarasa responded with an insulting remark about Prophet Muhammad but reportedly deleted the post within minutes.

He later apologised in a video, but the comment had already been captured in a screenshot and allegedly forwarded to his employer and Saudi authorities.

Sivarasa was subsequently arrested in July.

His family said it had had no contact with him since September 28, while Saudi authorities had yet to announce a date for his execution.

Humanists UK Chief Executive Andrew Copson called on the British Foreign Secretary to raise the matter with Saudi authorities at the highest level.

“Everyone has the right to speak freely about religion, and no one should ever face punishment for doing so, much less be put to death. And yet Anojan Sivarasa has been condemned to die because of a post made on Facebook,” Copson said.

He also called on the British government to use its diplomatic influence to advocate for the abolition of blasphemy laws in countries where they remain in force.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan government has launched efforts to secure a pardon for Sivarasa.

The BBC reported that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake met members of Sivarasa’s family in September and assured them that his administration would do everything possible to secure his release.

The Sri Lankan government has also dispatched a four-member legal delegation to Saudi Arabia to engage with lawyers representing Sivarasa.

Religious leaders and civil society organisations in Sri Lanka have joined calls for government intervention. Buddhist and Hindu leaders reportedly submitted a memorandum to the presidential secretariat calling for action over the case.

Sivarasa’s brother, Hamsidan, previously told the BBC that the family contacted the Sri Lankan embassy after losing communication with Anojan.

“People in Saudi Arabia knew nothing about this matter. It was individuals in Sri Lanka who sent emails to the company where my brother worked. I do not even wish to mention who those people are,” he told BBC Sinhala.

The case has renewed scrutiny of Saudi Arabia’s treatment of online speech. The country has previously faced criticism from human rights organisations over severe punishments imposed in cases involving social media activity.

Executions linked to blasphemy are considered relatively uncommon in Saudi Arabia compared with capital cases involving offences such as drug trafficking and murder.