A 24-year-old Sri Lankan migrant worker, Anojan Sivarasa, is facing execution in Saudi Arabia after an appellate court sentenced him to death over a Facebook comment deemed blasphemous, BBC reports.
Sivarasa was initially sentenced to five years in prison and fined three million Saudi riyals under the country’s cybercrime law.
However, his case took a dramatic turn on September 17 when prosecutors appealed the ruling and sought to have him tried under Sharia law. The appellate court subsequently increased his sentence to death.
Sivarasa was reportedly arrested in July after posting an insulting comment about Islam and the Prophet Muhammad during an argument on social media.
According to reports, the dispute began after another user posted derogatory remarks about a Hindu deity. Sivarasa responded with an offensive comment about the Prophet Muhammad, but deleted it within minutes and later apologised in a video.
The comment was reportedly screenshotted and sent to his employer and Saudi authorities, leading to his arrest.
His family has not heard from him since September 28, while Saudi authorities have yet to announce an execution date.
The development has sparked calls for intervention, with Humanists UK launching a petition on Wednesday urging the British Government to pressure Saudi Arabia to overturn the death sentence.
The organisation’s Chief Executive, Andrew Copson, called on the British Foreign Secretary to raise the case with Saudi authorities “at the highest level.”
Copson said, “Everyone has the right to speak freely about religion, and no one should ever face punishment for doing so, much less be put to death. And yet Anojan Sivarasa has been condemned to die because of a post made on Facebook.”
He also urged the UK Government to use its influence to advocate for the repeal of blasphemy laws in countries where they remain in force.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan government has been seeking a pardon for Sivarasa.
The BBC reported that Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake met with the family in September and assured them that his administration would make every effort to secure Sivarasa’s release.
The Sri Lankan government has also sent a four-member legal delegation to Saudi Arabia to meet the lawyers handling the case.
Religious leaders and civil society groups in Sri Lanka have joined the calls for intervention, with Buddhist and Hindu leaders submitting a memorandum to the presidential secretariat.
Sivarasa’s brother, Hamsidan, told the BBC that the family contacted the Sri Lankan embassy after communication with Anojan stopped.
“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,” he said.
Saudi Arabia has previously faced criticism from human rights organisations over severe punishments imposed for online speech. However, executions for blasphemy are considered relatively rare compared with executions for offences such as drug-related crimes and murder.