(Beirut) – A Saudi court has sentenced a Sri Lankan migrant worker to death over a Facebook comment that was deemed blasphemous, Human Rights Watch said today. Saudi authorities should reverse the judgment and release him immediately.
The Saudi Court of Appeal in the Eastern Region handed down the death sentence to Anojan Sivarasa, 24, on September 17, 2026, after two court sessions. An initial ruling had sentenced him to five years in prison.
“Sentencing a migrant worker to death over a Facebook comment that he has publicly apologized for is an outrageous overreaction from Saudi authorities amid a surge in executions,” said Joey Shea, senior Saudi Arabia researcher at Human Rights Watch. “No one should face execution for a comment on religion.”
On June 28, Sivarasa replied to a video circulating on Facebook with a comment in Tamil deemed offensive to the Prophet Muhammad by some viewers. The comment quickly gained attention, and a screenshot was apparently sent to Saudi authorities and Sivarasa’s employer, a family member of Sivarasa’s told Human Rights Watch. Sivarasa deleted the comment and uploaded an apology video to his Facebook account. Sivarasa’s employer held him in its office for at least 24 hours and then took him to the Dammam police station, where he was arrested on July 1, the family member said.
Sivarasa was working in construction and had arrived in Saudi Arabia just 10 months earlier. He is the sole breadwinner for his family in Sri Lanka, the family member said.
The Al-Ahsa Public Prosecution charged Sivarasa with “verbally insulting and offending our Prophet Muhammad” and “producing and disseminating, through the information network, material prejudicial to religious values and public morals, by publishing a comment on a social media program containing words contrary to religious values and public morals,” according to court documents obtained by Human Rights Watch.
On July 27, the Criminal Court of Al-Ahsa issued a judgment convicting Sivarasa under article 6 of the Anti-Cyber Crime Law and sentenced him to five years in prison and a fine of 3 million Saudi riyals (about US$800,000), according to court documents. The court also ordered confiscation of his electronic device and closure of his Facebook account.
The Al-Ahsa Public Prosecution filed an appeal of the initial judgment. Sivarasa’s lawyer also appealed the initial judgment and sentence.
On September 17, Sivarasa informed his family that he had been sentenced to death, the family member said. Court documents reviewed by Human Rights Watch show that Court of Appeal in the Eastern Region found Sivarasa guilty of verbally insulting the Prophet Muhammad on a social media post and sentenced him to death.
“We never expected this situation,” the family member said. “This is a funeral house. The family is shocked and they still are recovering from that state of shock.”
On October 5, a prisoner attacked Sivarasa in detention with a small weapon, injuring his head and face. the family member said. He received medical attention and has been moved to a different cell.
Saudi Arabia has executed more than 2,000 people over the last decade, in many cases violating Saudi and international law. Authorities executed at least 356 people in 2025, setting a new record in the country for the highest number of executions in one year since monitoring began.
International human rights law, including the Arab Charter on Human Rights ratified by Saudi Arabia, obliges countries that use the death penalty to only do so for the “most serious crimes” and in exceptional circumstances. Human Rights Watch opposes the death penalty in all circumstances because of its inherent cruelty.
“Saudi Arabia should immediately quash this sentence and release Sivarasa,” Shea said. “Saudi authorities should end their use of abusive laws to hand out extraordinary sentences for speech-related offenses, especially against migrant workers who are already in a vulnerable position with limited protections.”