•Anojan Sivarasa
A 24-year-old Sri Lankan migrant worker is facing execution in Saudi Arabia after an appellate court sentenced him to death over a Facebook comment deemed blasphemous.
Anojan Sivarasa was initially sentenced to five years in prison and fined three million Saudi riyals under Saudi Arabia’s cybercrime law, but his case took a drastic turn on September 17 after prosecutors appealed for him to be tried under Sharia law, reports BBC.
The appellate court subsequently increased his sentence to death.
Humanists UK has called on the British Government to urgently intervene in the case.
The organisation launched a petition yesterday seeking government action to help save the life of Anojan Sivarasa, who was convicted after posting an insulting comment about Islam and the Prophet Muhammad during an online religious argument.
Sivarasa had reportedly become involved in a religious argument on social media after another user posted derogatory remarks about a Hindu deity.
He responded with a comment insulting the Prophet Muhammad but deleted it within minutes and later apologised in a video.
The comment was nevertheless screenshotted and reportedly sent to his employer and Saudi authorities, leading to his arrest in July.
His family has not heard from him since September 28, while Saudi authorities have not announced an execution date.
The case has prompted fresh calls for intervention, with Humanists UK launching a petition on Wednesday urging the British Government to press Saudi Arabia to overturn the sentence.
Humanists UK Chief Executive, Andrew Copson, said the British Foreign Secretary should raise the case with Saudi authorities “at the highest level”.
“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,” Copson said.
He also urged the UK Government to use its influence to push 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.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake reportedly met his family in September and assured them that his government would make every effort to secure his release.
The government has also sent a four-member legal delegation to Saudi Arabia to meet the lawyers handling his case.
Religious leaders and civil society groups in Sri Lanka have equally called for government intervention, with Buddhist and Hindu leaders submitting a memorandum to the presidential secretariat.
Sivarasa’s brother, Hamsidan, previously told our correspondent that the family had 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,” Anojan’s brother told BBC Sinhala.
Saudi Arabia has previously faced criticism from human rights organisations over severe sentences imposed for online speech, although executions for blasphemy are considered relatively rare compared with those for offences such as drug crimes and murder.
