Saudi Arabia overturns death sentence for man over Facebook comment, Sri Lanka says

What the report says

Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court has set aside the death sentence of Anojan Sivarasa, a 27-year-old Sri Lankan migrant worker, after he was convicted over a Facebook comment that Saudi authorities said amounted to blasphemy against Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. The development was confirmed by Sri Lanka’s Deputy Foreign Minister Arun Hemachandra, according to the report, and follows months of diplomatic engagement by Colombo seeking clemency.

Nile Post, citing the BBC and Sri Lankan officials, said Sivarasa was originally sentenced in September by a Saudi appellate court, after his case began with an arrest in July. The article says the disputed comment was posted during an online exchange linked to wider religious tensions on social media, and that Sivarasa later deleted the remark and issued an apology video. His family had said they had not had direct contact with him since late September.

The report notes that the earlier sentence included five years in prison and a fine of three million Saudi riyals before the death penalty was imposed on appeal. It remains unclear whether the case will now proceed further, or whether Sivarasa will remain in detention. Human rights groups had called for mercy, arguing that speech-related offenses should not carry such severe penalties, particularly for migrant workers in vulnerable positions.