Saudi Arabia overturns death sentence of Sri Lankan man convicted over "blasphemous" Facebook post

Saudi Arabia's supreme court has overturned the death penalty awarded to a Sri Lankan migrant worker for a Facebook comment insulting the Prophet Muhammad.

Anojan Sivarasa, a 24-year-old migrant worker from Kalmunai in Sri Lanka's eastern province, was sentenced to death in September for blasphemy after his online comment was brought to the attention of his Saudi employer.

The case triggered a flurry of diplomatic efforts from the Sri Lankan government, which sent a four-member legal team to Riyadh to file a clemency appeal on Anojan's behalf.

Saudi Arabia's supreme court set aside the sentence on Tuesday, Sri Lanka's deputy foreign minister Arun Hemachandra said on Facebook. "This follows sustained diplomatic and legal efforts by the government of Sri Lanka," he added.

Mr. Hemachandra thanked Riyadh for its cooperation and the Sri Lankan and Saudi legal team for their "dedicated efforts".

Anojan had been in Saudi Arabia for less than a year when he was arrested in July. It was not immediately clear on Wednesday whether he would now serve a prison sentence or face fresh legal proceedings.

Anojan has been kept at the Dammam Central Prison, located 400km east of Riyadh. He was moved to a new cell after being assaulted by his cellmate last week.

His ordeal began with an online debate caused by a viral video showing a man kicking a stray dog that had accompanied some Hindu pilgrims.

He responded to a derogatory online comment about a Hindu deity by making his own remarks insulting the Prophet Muhammad. Anojan promptly deleted his Facebook post and posted an apology video, but screenshots were sent to his employer and passed on to the Saudi authorities.

The Al-Ahsa Criminal Court initially sentenced him to five years in prison and fined him 3m Saudi riyals, about £600,000, under the country's cybercrime law.

The court also rejected an appeal filed on his behalf to reduce the sentence. But on 17 September, prosecutors filed their own appeal for Anojan to be tried under Sharia law. The court granted their request, leading to Anojan being handed the death penalty for blasphemy.

An appeal for clemency was filed before the Saudi supreme court on Sunday, officials said.

Sri Lanka's ambassador Omar Lebbe Ameer Ajwad said Anojan was in good health and well attended by the authorities after meeting him at the prison last week.

Anojan's family said they had no contact with their son since 28 September.

The court ruling has been welcomed in Sri Lanka, where cross-party parliamentary committees, human rights organisations and civil society members campaigned to prevent another national from being executed in Saudi Arabia.

Sri Lankan migrant worker Rizana Nafeek was executed in 2013 over murder charges, despite diplomatic efforts to secure clemency.

International human rights groups in recent days have urged Saudi authorities to overturn the death penalty.

"Sentencing a migrant worker to death over a Facebook comment that he has publicly apologised for is an outrageous overreaction from Saudi authorities amid a surge in executions," said Joey Shea, a Saudi Arabia researcher at Human Rights Watch. "No one should face execution for a comment on religion."

In the past, rights groups have repeatedly expressed concern over the harsh sentences imposed for online speech in Saudi Arabia, which is one of the world's top executioners.

Saudi Arabia carried out at least 356 executions in 2025, the highest on record and up from 345 in 2024.

The kingdom has executed more than 2,000 people over the last decade, in many cases violating Saudi and international law, according to Human Rights Watch.

Source: The Independent, Alisha Rahaman Sarkar, October 14, 2026

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
— Oscar Wilde

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