Saudi Supreme Court sets aside death sentence of Sri Lankan Hindu man Anojan Sivarasa over Facebook comment

A Sri Lankan man who was sentenced to death last month over a Facebook comment has had his sentence set aside by Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court, Sri Lanka’s Deputy Foreign Minister Arun Hemachandra said.In a statement on Facebook, Hemachandra said the court had overturned the judgment imposing the death penalty on Anojan Sivarasa. He credited sustained diplomatic and legal efforts by the Sri Lankan government and thanked Saudi authorities for their cooperation.Sivarasa was sentenced to death in September by a Saudi appellate court after being convicted of blasphemy against Islam and the Prophet Muhammad over a comment he posted on Facebook. The case prompted diplomatic efforts by Sri Lanka to seek clemency for its nationals.Hemachandra also thanked Sri Lanka’s ambassador, the secretary and officials of the Foreign Ministry, the chairman and members of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment, and the legal teams from both Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia for their work on the case.The incident that led to Sivarasa’s arrest began in late June, when footage of a young Muslim man kicking a dog following Hindu pilgrims in Sri Lanka circulated on social media. The video triggered an online exchange involving religious comments.During the discussion, a user posted derogatory remarks about a Hindu deity. Sivarasa responded in Tamil with a comment about the Prophet Muhammad. He later deleted the comment and published an apology video.A screenshot of the post was subsequently brought to the attention of his employer and Saudi officials. Sivarasa was arrested in July.The Al-Ahsa Criminal Court initially sentenced him to five years in prison and imposed a fine of three million Saudi riyals, equivalent to about $800,000. The case later went before an appellate court, which imposed the death sentence in September.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.