Man, 24, Sentenced to Death Over Deleted Facebook Comment About Prophet Muhammad — Even His Apology Video Could Not Save Him

A 24-year-old Sri Lankan man has been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia over a Facebook comment that he later deleted and apologised for.

Anojan Sivarasa, who is from Sri Lanka but had moved to Saudi Arabia for work, was found guilty of blasphemy against Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. The case has caused serious concern in Sri Lanka, where the government and his family are now trying to prevent the death sentence from being carried out.

The case began with an argument on social media following an incident connected to a Hindu pilgrimage in Sri Lanka. A video had reportedly circulated online showing a young Muslim man kicking a dog that had been following Hindu pilgrims.

The video caused anger online and led to heated arguments between social media users. During one of those exchanges, another person allegedly made insulting comments about a Hindu god.

Anojan responded by posting derogatory remarks about the Prophet Muhammad in Tamil.

According to Sri Lankan media reports, Anojan allegedly wrote a comment which, when translated into English, said: “If Prophet Muhammad had fallen into my hands, I would have cut off his penis.”

He quickly deleted the comment and later posted a video apologising for what he had written. However, someone had already taken a screenshot before the comment disappeared.

According to his family, the screenshot was later sent to people in Saudi Arabia, including Anojan’s employer and the authorities. He was arrested in July, and Saudi officials reportedly seized his electronic devices. His social media accounts were later deleted.

His brother, Hamsidan Sivarasa, told the BBC that people in Saudi Arabia had originally known nothing about the Facebook dispute. He claimed that people in Sri Lanka contacted the company where his brother worked and brought the matter to their attention.

Anojan’s mother has also publicly begged for mercy, asking the authorities to forgive her son and allow him to return home to his family.

The case initially resulted in a much different punishment. Anojan was reportedly sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay a fine of three million Saudi riyals, which is worth more than £600,000.

However, the situation later became much more serious.

On 17 September, Saudi prosecutors reportedly appealed for the case to be considered under Sharia law rather than cybercrime law. The appeal was allowed, and the punishment was changed to a death sentence.

The development has caused alarm among Anojan’s relatives and prompted the Sri Lankan government to become directly involved.

His family met Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on 21 September. They were told that the government was using diplomatic channels in an effort to help Anojan and prevent his execution.

Sri Lankan officials are reportedly exploring different options, including trying to have the death sentence reduced and seeking a pardon.

A legal team from Sri Lanka is also travelling to Saudi Arabia to speak with the lawyers representing Anojan.

Upul Kumarapperuma, President’s Counsel and a member of the delegation, said two Saudi law firms are working on the case. The Sri Lankan delegation plans to meet the lawyers, discuss the situation and decide what legal steps can be taken next.

Meanwhile, Anojan’s family has become increasingly worried because communication with him has stopped. His brother said on 28 September that the family had not heard from him for two days.

There is currently no publicly announced date for any execution.

The case has attracted attention because Anojan deleted the Facebook comment and publicly apologised, but the screenshot meant the original post could still be used as evidence against him.

His family is now hoping that legal and diplomatic efforts will succeed before it is too late. They are asking Saudi authorities for mercy and want Anojan’s sentence reduced so that he can eventually return to Sri Lanka.

Saudi Arabia has a large foreign-worker population, including many people from Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The country continues to use the death penalty, although many executions are connected to serious crimes such as murder and drug offences.

For Anojan’s family, however, the focus is now on securing his life. What began as an angry exchange on Facebook, followed by a deleted comment and an apology video, has developed into a case in which a 24-year-old man is facing the possibility of execution.