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Saudi Arabia's Supreme Court overturns death sentence imposed on Sri Lankan migrant worker Anojan Sivarasa over a Facebook comment

Anojan Sivarasa, 27, had deleted the comment and posted an apology video, but a screenshot had already reached Saudi officials, leading to his arrest.
Anojan Sivarasa, 27, had deleted the comment and posted an apology video, but a screenshot had already reached Saudi officials, leading to his arrest.

Anojan Sivarasa, a 24-year-old Tamil engineer from Kalmunai who had been working construction in Saudi Arabia for less than a year, had his death sentence set aside by the Saudi Supreme Court on 13 October after Sri Lanka sent a specialist legal delegation to Riyadh to file the appeal. Sivarasa was originally arrested in July after a screenshot of his Facebook comment insulting the Prophet Muhammad — made during a heated online exchange — was passed to his employer and then Saudi authorities. Sri Lanka's Deputy Foreign Minister Arun Hemachandra confirmed the ruling on social media, calling it "a major relief."

Sivarasa deleted his comment and posted an apology video immediately, but was still sentenced to death by the Saudi Court of Appeal after a lower court had initially jailed him for five years.

Sivarasa was attacked by a fellow inmate at Dammam Central Prison last week, and his family say they have had no contact with him since 28 September.

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