Sri Lankan Tamil worker gets death sentence in Saudi Arabia over blasphemy, calls for pardon intensify

Sivarasa Anojan, a Sri Lankan migrant worker is facing death sentence in Saudi Arabia after an appellate court reportedly increased his punishment over a Facebook comment that was deemed insulting to Islam and Prophet Muhammad. The case has sparked widespread concerns in Sri Lanka. The civil society is seeking clemency while political parties and government bodies have taken diplomatic channel to seek pardon for him.

But the 24-year-old Sivarasa Anojan's family hasn't heard anything from him or have no clue about how he is doing since 28 September.

Anojan's mother Rasamanickam Yogalakshmi in an interview to BBC pleaded for forgiveness with the Saudi authorities and said, "I plead for mercy for the wrongs committed by my son. Please forgive him and send him back to us."

Saudi authorities have not official said anything about the execution so far and it also remains unclear when the sentence will be carried out.

Meanwhile, a legal delegation from Sri Lanka is travelling to Saudi Arabia this week to meet Sivarasa’s local defence lawyers.

"There are two law firms in Saudi Arabia handling Anojan's case. We are going there to meet the lawyers from these two firms, discuss the case and plan what can be done next," one of the team, Upul Kumarapperuma, President's Counsel, told BBC Sinhala.

What was the incident and how it happened?

It all started with an online argument over a video in which a Muslim man was seen kicking a dog during a Hindu pilgrimage. During the argument, a user posted derogatory content against Lord Shiva to which Sivarasa replied in Tamil with an insulting comment about Prophet Muhammad.

However, Sivarasa soon deleted the comment and posted an apology video. But someone had already complained to his employer in Saudi Arabia about the incident with a screenshot attached. After receiving the complaint the employer informed Saudi authorities, who arrested Sivarasa and seized his electronic devices.

After his arrest in July, Sivarasa was presented before the Al-Ahsa Criminal Court that sentenced him to five years in prison and fined 3 million Saudi riyals, around $800,000. On September 17, Saudi prosecutors appealed the case and asked the court to deal with it under Sharia law instead of cybercrime laws. On the appeal, the court changed Sivarasa's sentence to death penalty.