175 Executions This Year: Saudi Court Sentences Sri Lankan, 24, to Death for Facebook Post
October 13, 2026 · Frisian News
A Saudi appeals court sentenced Anojan Sivarasa, a 24-year-old Sri Lankan migrant worker, to death on September 17 for a Facebook comment insulting the Prophet Muhammad that he deleted and apologised for. Saudi Arabia had already executed at least 175 people in 2026 as of October 5, according to Amnesty International.
The number
175
people executed in Saudi Arabia in 2026, as of 5 October
Source: Amnesty International ↗
At least 175 people have been executed in Saudi Arabia so far this year, according to Amnesty International figures current as of October 5. The next on that list could be a 24-year-old Sri Lankan migrant worker who posted one comment on Facebook, deleted it, and filmed an apology.
Anojan Sivarasa had been working in Saudi Arabia for about nine months, the Hindustan Times reports, and came from Sri Lanka's Eastern Province. In late June, a video circulated showing a Muslim man kicking a dog during a Hindu pilgrimage in Sri Lanka, sparking a religious argument on social media. When another user posted insults against a Hindu deity, Sivarasa replied in Tamil with a comment insulting the Prophet Muhammad. He deleted the comment and recorded a public apology. A screenshot had already been taken.
Sivarasa's brother Hamsidan told BBC Sinhala that individuals in Sri Lanka emailed the company where his brother worked in Saudi Arabia, and the employer notified Saudi authorities. Officers seized Sivarasa's devices, deleted his social media accounts, and arrested him on July 1. Amnesty International reports that he was denied access to a lawyer from the moment of his arrest until his initial sentencing.
The Al-Ahsa Criminal Court sentenced him on July 27 to five years in prison and a fine of three million Saudi riyals, approximately $800,000, the maximum penalty under Article 6 of Saudi Arabia's Anti-Cybercrime Law, according to Amnesty International. An appeal seeking to reduce his sentence was submitted on his behalf. Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath confirmed the appeal was rejected. Saudi prosecutors then filed their own appeal, seeking prosecution under Sharia law rather than the cybercrime statute. On September 17, the appeals court granted that request and sentenced Sivarasa to death.
Saudi Arabia has no written penal code, according to Amnesty International. Many offences and their punishments are not defined in law but left to individual judges interpreting Sharia. Where written laws exist, prosecutors rely on vague provisions covering "public order" and "religious values" to criminalise speech. In Sivarasa's case, the sentence rose from five years to death in less than two months.
In July 2023, Mohammed Al Ghamdi, a retired Saudi school teacher, was sentenced to death over comments on social media platforms, according to the United Nations, cited by the BBC. His ruling was later reduced to 30 years in prison, according to ALQST for Human Rights. Sivarasa's family has had no contact with him since September 28, his brother told the BBC.
Saudi Arabia routinely carries out executions without warning families or foreign embassies, informing relatives only afterward, according to the BBC. At least 94 of the 175 people executed this year were foreign nationals from more than 20 countries, Amnesty International says. The International Organisation for Migration counts more than 10 million foreign workers in the kingdom. Amnesty's regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, Heba Morayef, said: "Sentencing a man to death over a social media post is a chilling illustration of the Saudi authorities' willingness to impose this cruel and irreversible punishment."
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake met Sivarasa's family at the Presidential Secretariat on September 21 and pledged to seek a general pardon. A four-member Sri Lankan legal delegation is traveling to Saudi Arabia this week to meet his local defence lawyers, according to the BBC. The government has instructed the family to stop making public statements while diplomatic channels remain open.
No execution timeline has been announced. His family has not heard his voice since September 28.
Published October 13, 2026 · Frisian News