A 24-year-old Sri Lankan migrant worker, Anojan Sivarasa, is facing execution in Saudi Arabia after an appellate court sentenced him to death over a Facebook comment considered blasphemous.
Sivarasa was initially sentenced to five years in prison and fined three million Saudi riyals under Saudi Arabia’s cybercrime law.
However, prosecutors later appealed the case and sought a trial under Sharia law. The appellate court subsequently increased his sentence to death on September 17.
Sivarasa reportedly made the comment during an online religious argument after another social media user posted derogatory remarks about a Hindu deity.
He responded with an insulting comment about Islam and the Prophet Muhammad but deleted it within minutes and later apologised in a video.
The comment was reportedly screenshotted and sent to his employer and Saudi authorities, leading to his arrest in July.
His family has not heard from him since September 28, while Saudi authorities have not announced an execution date.
Humanists UK has called on the British Government to intervene, with its Chief Executive, Andrew Copson, urging the British Foreign Secretary to raise the case with Saudi authorities.
The organisation has also launched a petition calling for government action to help secure Sivarasa’s release.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan government is seeking a pardon for Sivarasa.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake reportedly met with Sivarasa’s family in September and assured them that his government would make efforts to secure his release.
The Sri Lankan government has also sent a four-member legal delegation to Saudi Arabia to meet lawyers handling the case.
Religious leaders and civil society groups in Sri Lanka have joined calls for government intervention, with Buddhist and Hindu leaders submitting a memorandum to the presidential secretariat.
Sivarasa’s brother, Hamsidan, said the family contacted the Sri Lankan embassy after communication with Anojan stopped.
Saudi Arabia has previously faced criticism from human rights organisations over severe punishments for online speech, although executions for blasphemy are considered relatively rare compared with offences such as drug crimes and murder.
