Sri Lankan worker sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia over Facebook comment

A dispute that began online

Anojan Sivarasa, a 24-year-old Sri Lankan migrant worker in Saudi Arabia, is facing execution after an appellate court found him guilty of blasphemy against Islam and the Prophet Muhammad, stemming from a comment he posted on Facebook.

According to the BBC, the dispute began in late June when footage circulated showing a young Muslim man kicking a dog that was following Hindu pilgrims in Sri Lanka, triggering heated religious arguments online. During one exchange, a user posted derogatory remarks about a Hindu deity, prompting Anojan to respond in Tamil with an insult directed at the Prophet Muhammad. He quickly deleted the comment and posted an apology video, but a screenshot of the original post reached his employer and Saudi officials, leading to his arrest in July.

Anojan's brother, Hamsidan Sivarasa, told BBC Sinhala that people in Saudi Arabia initially knew nothing about the matter — it was individuals in Sri Lanka who emailed the company employing Anojan, which then alerted Saudi authorities.

From prison sentence to death penalty

The Al-Ahsa Criminal Court initially sentenced Anojan to five years in prison and a fine of 3 million Saudi riyals (about $0.8m). An appeal to reduce the sentence was rejected, according to Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath. The case escalated sharply on 17 September, when Saudi prosecutors filed an appeal to have Anojan tried under Sharia law rather than cybercrime legislation. The appellate court granted the request and raised the sentence to death.

Diplomatic and public appeals

Anojan's mother, Rasamanickam Yogalakshmi, tearfully pleaded for mercy for her son. Sri Lanka's government has instructed the family to avoid further public statements while diplomatic efforts continue. On 21 September, the family met President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who pledged that the government would spare no effort to secure a pardon.

The case has drawn support across religious lines — Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim leaders have submitted a memorandum calling for state intervention. As reported by the Daily Mirror, Sri Lanka's National Peace Council has urged religious leaders to express joint solidarity and warned against turning the case into a source of anti-Muslim sentiment or collective blame.

A four-member Sri Lankan legal delegation is now travelling to Saudi Arabia to meet Anojan's defence lawyers. Per the BBC, the family has had no update on Anojan's condition since 28 September, and all communication with him has ceased — death row inmates in Saudi prisons typically lose access to personal phones.

Saudi Arabia has not published an execution timeline, and the country has a history of carrying out executions without warning families or foreign embassies beforehand. Human rights groups have repeatedly criticised harsh sentences for online speech in the kingdom — in a comparable 2023 case, a retired teacher, Mohammed Al Ghamdi, was sentenced to death over social media posts before the ruling was overturned to 30 years in prison.