Sivarasa Anojan, the Sri Lankan Tamil migrant worker whose death sentence was set aside by Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court. Photo: HRW
Colombo: Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court has set aside the death sentence imposed on Sri Lankan Tamil migrant worker Sivarasa Anojan over a Facebook comment concerning Prophet Muhammad, Sri Lanka’s Deputy Foreign Minister Arun Hemachandra said on Wednesday, October 14.
In a post on Facebook, Hemachandra said the ruling was issued on Tuesday, October 13, following sustained diplomatic and legal efforts by the Sri Lankan government. He thanked Saudi authorities, Sri Lanka’s ambassador, Foreign Ministry officials and the legal teams from both countries for their efforts.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake welcomed the decision, describing it as a relief for Anojan, his family and Sri Lankans who had followed the case with concern.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Dissanayake thanked the Saudi government, diplomats, civil servants and legal teams from both countries for their efforts. He said his government would continue to support Anojan and his family until the remaining legal proceedings were concluded.
The case began in late June after a video showing a man kicking a dog that had accompanied Hindu pilgrims during a pilgrimage in Sri Lanka circulated on social media. The footage triggered heated exchanges between Hindu and Muslim users.
During the online argument, a Facebook account posted derogatory remarks about the Hindu deity Lord Shiva. Anojan responded in Tamil with a comment about Prophet Muhammad. He later deleted the comment and posted an apology video.
However, screenshots of the comment were reportedly shared with his employer in Saudi Arabia and brought to the attention of the authorities. Anojan was arrested in July.
The Al-Ahsa Criminal Court initially sentenced Anojan to five years in prison and fined him three million Saudi riyals under Saudi Arabia’s Anti-Cyber Crime Law.
The Saudi prosecution subsequently appealed, seeking a harsher punishment under Sharia law. On September 17, the Saudi Court of Appeal overturned the original sentence and imposed the death penalty for blasphemy.
An appeal was filed before the Supreme Court on October 11. The court set aside the death sentence on October 13, according to Hemachandra’s announcement.
Following the death sentence, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake met Anojan’s parents on September 21 and pledged to pursue legal and diplomatic efforts to secure a pardon.
A four-member Sri Lankan legal delegation travelled to Riyadh to challenge the sentence. Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Omar Lebbe Ameer Ajwad, also engaged with Saudi authorities and visited Anojan at Dammam Central Prison on October 8.
Six Tamil and Muslim MPs reportedly appealed to the Saudi foreign minister for mercy, while Buddhist and Hindu religious leaders urged the Sri Lankan President to intervene.
Human Rights Watch criticised the death sentence before it was overturned, calling it an excessive response to a social media comment.
“Sentencing a migrant worker to death over a Facebook comment that he has publicly apologised for is an outrageous overreaction from Saudi authorities amid a surge in executions,” said Joey Shea, senior Saudi Arabia researcher at Human Rights Watch. “No one should face execution for a comment on religion.”
This post was last modified on October 14, 2026 3:52 pm