Anojan Sivarasa, a 24-year-old Sri Lankan migrant worker, has been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia over a Facebook comment judged blasphemous. He was arrested in July after the comment was reportedly screenshotted and passed to both Saudi authorities and his employer. Initially he received a five-year prison term and a fine of three million Saudi riyals under the kingdom’s cybercrime law; prosecutors then sought to try him under Sharia law on Sept. 17, and an appeals court subsequently upgraded the punishment to the death penalty. His family says they have not heard from him since Sept. 28 and Saudi officials have not announced any execution date.
The case has triggered international and domestic pressure. Humanists U.K. launched a petition urging British ministers to press Saudi authorities to overturn the sentence and to push for abolition of blasphemy laws, while Sri Lanka’s government is seeking a pardon: the president met the family and a four-person legal team was sent to Saudi Arabia. Religious leaders and civil society in Sri Lanka have also demanded action. Family members say individuals in Sri Lanka alerted the employer, prompting the arrest. Human rights groups have criticized Saudi Arabia’s harsh penalties for online speech, noting that executions for blasphemy are less common than for drug offenses and murder but remain a serious human rights concern.
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