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Anger as man sentenced to death for Facebook comment
The Mirror US • • world
Key Points:
- Anojan Sivarasa, a 24-year-old Sri Lankan migrant worker, has been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for a Facebook comment considered blasphemous, with his family having lost contact since September 28.
- Initially sentenced to five years in prison and a fine under Saudi cybercrime law, prosecutors later sought a Sharia law trial, resulting in an appeals court increasing the sentence to death.
- Humanists U.K. and other groups are urging the British government to intervene, calling for the sentence to be overturned and for the repeal of blasphemy laws in countries that still enforce them.
- The Sri Lankan government is actively seeking a pardon, with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake pledging support and sending a legal delegation to Saudi Arabia to assist in the case.
- The case has sparked domestic pressure in Sri Lanka, with religious and civil society leaders demanding action, while human rights organizations continue to criticize Saudi Arabia's severe penalties for online speech offenses.
