After outcry, Saudi Arabia overturns Sri Lankan worker's death sentence over Facebook comment

Saudi Arabia's Supreme Court has set aside the death sentence given to a Sri Lankan migrant worker over a Facebook comment deemed insulting to Islam and Prophet Muhammad, according to Sri Lanka's government.

Deputy Foreign Minister Arun Hemachandra announced the decision on social media on Wednesday, saying the court set aside the sentence on 13 October and thanking Saudi authorities, Sri Lankan officials and the legal teams on both sides. The worker, Anojan Sivarasa, had been sentenced to death last month. The reports seen carried no public comment from Saudi authorities.

Saudi Arabia Supreme Court

In late June, a video circulated online showing a man kicking a dog as he followed Hindu pilgrims, setting off religious arguments on social media. During one exchange, another user posted derogatory remarks about a Hindu deity, and Sivarasa replied in Tamil with a comment deemed insulting to the Prophet. He deleted it promptly and posted an apology video, but a screenshot reached his employer and Saudi officials, and he was arrested in July.

Human Rights Watch says he had arrived in Saudi Arabia only 10 months earlier to work in construction. The Al-Ahsa Criminal Court first sentenced him to five years in prison and a fine of three million Saudi riyals. On 17 September, the Court of Appeal in the Eastern Region found him guilty of blasphemy and imposed the death sentence.

The case set off alarm in Sri Lanka, where civil society groups mobilised and the government pursued clemency through diplomatic channels. Sri Lankan and Saudi lawyers, working with the Sri Lankan embassy in Riyadh, filed an appeal with the Supreme Court on 11 October, and the ambassador visited Sivarasa in Dammam Central Prison.

According to BBC, Faizer Mustafa, a Sri Lankan lawmaker involved in the legal negotiations, confirmed the ruling and said the team was studying it.

Human Rights Watch had urged Saudi authorities to quash the sentence. Its Saudi Arabia researcher, Joey Shea, called on the kingdom to stop using abusive laws to impose extraordinary sentences for speech offences, particularly on migrant workers, who have limited protections.

Sivarasa's legal situation remains unresolved. Officials have not said whether there will be further proceedings, or whether he will stay in detention and for how long. His family said they had had no direct contact with him since 28 September.