Young Man in His 20s Sentenced to Death Over Facebook Comment... Family Appeals to President

Sri Lankan Man Sentenced to Death for Insulting Islam Online
Five Years in Prison and 1 Billion Won Fine in First Trial,
Death Sentence on Appeal

Anoujan Sivarasa, a Sri Lankan man in his twenties who was staying in Saudi Arabia as a migrant worker, was sentenced to death after engaging in a heated exchange of comments on Facebook.

Anojan Sivarasa (24), a Sri Lankan migrant worker in Saudi Arabia, was sentenced to death by a Saudi court for posting comments that insulted the Islamic prophet Muhammad during a religious debate on Facebook. Facebook screenshot

The incident began at the end of June when a video was uploaded to a social networking service (SNS). The footage showed a young Muslim man kicking a dog that had been following Hindu pilgrims.

This video sparked a religious debate online between Hindu and Muslim believers.

Anoujan also joined the comment war at the time, posting a comment in Tamil insulting the Islamic prophet Muhammad in response to an online user who had left an offensive comment about a Hindu deity.

The issue was that Anoujan was staying in Saudi Arabia as a migrant worker. Although he immediately deleted his comment and uploaded an apology video, screenshots of his comment had already spread online and reached both his employer and the Saudi authorities.

Anoujan was arrested in Saudi Arabia in July. His personal devices were confiscated, and his SNS accounts were deleted by the authorities. Anoujan was sentenced by a criminal court to five years in prison and a fine of 3 million Saudi riyals (about 1.073 billion won). Anoujan appealed for a reduction of his sentence, but the appeal was denied.

However, the situation did not end there. On September 17, the Saudi prosecution appealed, requesting that Anoujan be prosecuted not under the Saudi cybercrime law but under Sharia law, based on Islamic legal principles. The appeals court accepted the prosecutor’s request and sentenced Anoujan to death.

As news of this case reached Sri Lanka, several political parties and government agencies launched diplomatic efforts urging clemency for Anoujan. On September 21, Anoujan’s family met with Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who assured them that every effort would be made to secure a pardon for Anoujan.

Because Saudi authorities do not announce official execution schedules, it is unknown when Anoujan’s death sentence will be carried out. Saudi Arabia is known to have previously executed death sentences without prior notice to the family or embassy, informing bereaved families only afterward.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), there are more than 10 million foreign workers in Saudi Arabia. Human rights organizations point out that migrant laborers face extreme vulnerability within the Saudi legal system due to language barriers and a lack of proper legal representation.

However, it is known that executions for blasphemy by the Saudi courts are rarer than executions for drug offenses or murder.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.