Man sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia over Facebook comment

A Sri Lankan migrant worker, Anojan Sivarasa, faces execution in Saudi Arabia after his death sentence was increased from five years in prison, according to BBC reports. The 24-year-old was initially convicted for posting a blasphemous comment on Facebook, which reportedly led to his arrest in July. The comment was deleted shortly after and later apologized for in a video.

Despite the deletion, the post was allegedly screenshoted and sent to his employer and Saudi authorities. Humanists UK has called on the British government to intervene in the case, with the organization's chief executive urging the Foreign Secretary to raise the matter with Saudi authorities. The Sri Lankan government has also expressed concern for Sivarasa, sending a legal delegation to Saudi Arabia to meet with his lawyers.