An ordeal that gripped Sri Lanka
COLOMBO, October 15, 2026 — Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court has overturned the death sentence imposed on a Sri Lankan migrant worker convicted of blasphemy over a Facebook comment, Colombo announced on Wednesday, ending a months-long case that triggered frantic diplomatic efforts and an outpouring of international condemnation.
The court set aside the judgment imposing the death penalty on Anojan Sivarasa, 27, on Tuesday, Sri Lanka’s Deputy Foreign Minister Arun Hemachandra said in a statement, crediting sustained diplomatic and legal efforts by both governments and thanking Saudi authorities for their cooperation.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake publicly welcomed the ruling, writing on X that he expressed “sincere appreciation to the Government of Saudi Arabia for this humane and just outcome,” and thanking diplomats, civil servants and legal teams from both countries for their dedicated work.
A comment, an apology, an arrest
Sivarasa’s ordeal began in late June, when footage of a young Muslim man kicking a dog trailing Hindu pilgrims in Sri Lanka circulated widely on social media, sparking heated religious arguments online.
During the exchange, one user posted derogatory remarks about a Hindu deity. Sivarasa responded in Tamil with a comment about the Prophet Muhammad that Saudi authorities later deemed blasphemous. He deleted the comment shortly afterwards and posted a video apologising for it.
But screenshots of the deleted comment kept circulating. His family has said individuals in Sri Lanka emailed his employer in the kingdom, and the matter was brought to the attention of Saudi officials. His devices were seized and he was arrested in July.
From five years to a death sentence
The Al-Ahsa Criminal Court initially sentenced Sivarasa to five years in prison and imposed a fine of three million Saudi riyals — roughly $800,000 — over the comment, a punishment he appealed. In September, an appellate court escalated the sentence to death under the kingdom’s interpretation of Sharia law.
The ruling sent shockwaves through Sri Lanka, home to hundreds of thousands of migrant workers employed in the Gulf. The government in Colombo launched urgent diplomatic efforts to seek clemency, while Sivarasa’s family said they had received no direct contact with him since September 28.
International rights groups also joined the campaign. Human Rights Watch had called on Saudi authorities to release Sivarasa, saying no one should face execution for a comment on religion amid what it described as a surge in executions in the kingdom.
What comes next
It remains unclear whether Sivarasa will stay in detention or face further legal proceedings, and for how long, officials said. A Sri Lankan lawmaker involved in the legal negotiations confirmed to broadcasters that the two sides were still reviewing the Supreme Court’s latest ruling.
For now, though, the announcement brought relief across Sri Lanka, where the case had drawn painful memories of a previous one — migrant worker Rizana Nafeek, who was executed in Saudi Arabia in 2013 despite years of clemency appeals. This time, Colombo said, diplomacy prevailed.
