Saudi Arabia Sentences Sri Lankan Worker To Death Over Facebook Comment
A 24-year-old Sri Lankan migrant worker has been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia over a Facebook comment deemed blasphemous, according to the BBC.
Anoján Sivarasa was initially handed a five-year prison term and fined three million Saudi riyals under Saudi Arabia’s cybercrime law.
However, prosecutors appealed the ruling on September 17, seeking a harsher punishment. An appellate court subsequently overturned the original sentence and imposed the death penalty.
According to Humanists UK, Sivarasa was convicted after making an offensive comment about Islam and Prophet Muhammad during an argument over religion on social media.
Reports said the dispute started after another social media user allegedly 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 a screenshot of the comment had already been taken and allegedly sent to his employer and Saudi authorities.
Sivarasa was arrested in July, while his family said it had not been able to contact him since September 28. Saudi authorities have not announced a date for his execution.
Humanists UK has launched a petition calling for British government intervention to secure Sivarasa’s release and prevent his execution.
The organisation’s chief executive, Andrew Copson, urged the British Foreign Secretary to raise the case with Saudi authorities at the highest diplomatic 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,” Copson said.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan government has begun diplomatic and legal efforts to secure a pardon for Sivarasa.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake reportedly met members of Sivarasa’s family in September and assured them that his administration would do everything possible to secure his release.
The government has also sent a four-member legal delegation to Saudi Arabia to engage with lawyers representing Sivarasa.
Religious leaders and civil society groups in Sri Lanka have joined calls for intervention, with Buddhist and Hindu leaders reportedly submitting a memorandum to the presidential secretariat.
Sivarasa’s brother, Hamsidan, told the BBC that the family contacted the Sri Lankan embassy after losing communication with Anojan.
He said individuals in Sri Lanka had allegedly sent emails about the Facebook comment to the company where his brother worked, eventually bringing the matter to the attention of Saudi authorities.
The case has renewed scrutiny of Saudi Arabia’s treatment of online speech and the severe penalties imposed in some cases involving social media activity.
Executions over blasphemy are relatively uncommon in Saudi Arabia compared with capital cases involving offences such as murder and drug trafficking.
Anoján Sivarasa was initially handed a five-year prison term and fined three million Saudi riyals under Saudi Arabia’s cybercrime law.
However, prosecutors appealed the ruling on September 17, seeking a harsher punishment. An appellate court subsequently overturned the original sentence and imposed the death penalty.
According to Humanists UK, Sivarasa was convicted after making an offensive comment about Islam and Prophet Muhammad during an argument over religion on social media.
Reports said the dispute started after another social media user allegedly 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 a screenshot of the comment had already been taken and allegedly sent to his employer and Saudi authorities.
Sivarasa was arrested in July, while his family said it had not been able to contact him since September 28. Saudi authorities have not announced a date for his execution.
Humanists UK has launched a petition calling for British government intervention to secure Sivarasa’s release and prevent his execution.
The organisation’s chief executive, Andrew Copson, urged the British Foreign Secretary to raise the case with Saudi authorities at the highest diplomatic 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,” Copson said.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan government has begun diplomatic and legal efforts to secure a pardon for Sivarasa.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake reportedly met members of Sivarasa’s family in September and assured them that his administration would do everything possible to secure his release.
The government has also sent a four-member legal delegation to Saudi Arabia to engage with lawyers representing Sivarasa.
Religious leaders and civil society groups in Sri Lanka have joined calls for intervention, with Buddhist and Hindu leaders reportedly submitting a memorandum to the presidential secretariat.
Sivarasa’s brother, Hamsidan, told the BBC that the family contacted the Sri Lankan embassy after losing communication with Anojan.
He said individuals in Sri Lanka had allegedly sent emails about the Facebook comment to the company where his brother worked, eventually bringing the matter to the attention of Saudi authorities.
The case has renewed scrutiny of Saudi Arabia’s treatment of online speech and the severe penalties imposed in some cases involving social media activity.
Executions over blasphemy are relatively uncommon in Saudi Arabia compared with capital cases involving offences such as murder and drug trafficking.
