A Saudi appeals court sentenced a 24-year-old Sri Lankan man to death for a Facebook comment insulting the Prophet Muhammad.
“I plead for mercy for the wrongs committed by my son. Please forgive him and send him back to us,” said Rasamanickam Yogalakshmi, the mother of Anojan Sivarasa.
Sivarasa was arrested on July 1 after an online religious dispute sparked by a viral video from a Hindu pilgrimage in Sri Lanka. When another user posted derogatory remarks about a Hindu deity, Sivarasa replied in Tamil with an insult aimed at Muhammad. He later deleted his comment and posted an apology video after a screenshot was circulated and brought to his employer’s attention, according to the BBC.
Sivarasa’s brother, Hamsidan Sivarasa, said people in Sri Lanka emailed his brother’s Saudi employer, which then notified Saudi authorities.
“People in Saudi Arabia knew nothing about this matter. It was individuals in Sri Lanka who sent emails to the company where my brother worked. I do not even wish to mention who those people are,” Hamsidan told BBC Sinhala.
Saudi officials seized Sivarasa’s devices and deleted his social media accounts, according to the BBC. The Criminal Court in Al-Ahsa initially sentenced him to five years in prison and a fine equivalent to $800,000.
An appeal seeking to reduce his original sentence was rejected, according to Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath. Saudi prosecutors separately sought to have him prosecuted under Sharia law rather than the country’s cybercrime legislation. On September 17, the appeals court granted that request and increased his sentence to death.
Sivarasa has appealed the death sentence, according to Amnesty International.
“No one should be imprisoned, let alone face execution simply for expressing their views, even if these are deemed insulting or offensive,” Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said. “Sentencing a man to death over a social media post is a chilling illustration of the Saudi authorities’ willingness to impose this cruel and irreversible punishment, including for acts that should never be criminalized.”
His family had received no updates on his condition since September 28, according to the BBC report.
“We informed the embassy and asked officials to look into the matter and update us,” Hamsidan said. “They said they would check. We are still waiting, as we have not yet received a response.”
Saudi Arabia has a history of carrying out death sentences without warning, sometimes telling families only afterward. It is one of the world’s leading executioners. At least 175 people have been executed in the country so far this year as of October 5, according to Amnesty International.
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