Saudi Arabia’s authorities must urgently overturn the death sentence issued against a migrant worker on charges of “blasphemy”, Amnesty International said in a statement.
The organization called on Saudi authorities to release him immediately and unconditionally, saying his charges stem entirely from his exercise of his right to freedom of expression.
According to Amnesty International’s statement, Anojan Sivarasa, a 24-year-old Sri Lankan national, was arrested on 1 July 2026 after posting a comment on Facebook deemed insulting to the prophet Mohammad. Amnesty said he told the judge that he made the comment during a moment of anger, and that he subsequently deleted it and published a video apology expressing remorse.
The organization said Sivarasa was prosecuted swiftly and, just weeks later, on 27 July, was sentenced to five years in prison and a SAR 3 million fine (around USD 800,000). Less than two months later, Amnesty said, this was increased to a death sentence on appeal on 17 September. The organization also said he was denied access to a lawyer from the moment of his arrest until his initial sentencing.
“The case raises alarming concerns about the application of the death penalty and the arbitrariness of the Saudi criminal justice system, with his initial sentence of five years transformed into a death sentence less than two months later on appeal. No one should be imprisoned, let alone face execution simply for expressing their views, even if these are deemed insulting or offensive. Anojan Sivarasa was exercising his right to freedom of expression and his execution would amount to arbitrary deprivation of life. Saudi authorities must immediately quash this death sentence, overturn his conviction and release him immediately and unconditionally,” Amnesty International said, quoting Heba Morayef, Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
“International human rights law restricts the death penalty to the ‘most serious crimes,’ understood to involve intentional killing, yet the Saudi authorities have continued to impose death sentences for conduct that should not be criminalized and to execute people at a startling rate after grossly unfair trials, including for non-violent offenses.”
“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, including for acts that should never be criminalized. Saudi authorities should immediately establish a moratorium on the use of the death penalty as a first move towards its full abolition,” the statement said.
Amnesty International said Saudi Arabia remains one of the world’s leading executioners. As of 5 October 2026, the organization said, at least 175 people had been executed in Saudi Arabia this year, including many for drug-related offences. According to Amnesty, foreign nationals account for a majority of those executed, with at least 94 foreign nationals from more than 20 countries put to death this year alone.
The organization said Saudi Arabia’s courts have, in recent years, imposed prison sentences of up to several decades for social media posts, with sentences swinging widely on appeal.
Amnesty International said Saudi Arabia has no written penal code, with many offences and their punishments not defined in law but left to the discretion of judges, who rule according to their own interpretation of Sharia. Where written laws do exist, the organization said, authorities often rely on vague and overly broad provisions of the counter-terror law and anti-cybercrime law, such as impinging on “public order”, “religious values”, and “public morals,” to criminalize people solely based on their exercise of the right to freedom of expression.
“Saudi authorities must halt this crackdown on freedom of expression and immediately release all those detained solely on the basis of their exercise of human rights,” Amnesty International said, quoting Heba Morayef.
Background
According to Amnesty International’s statement, on 27 July, the Criminal Court in Al Ahsa sentenced Anojan Sivarasa to five years’ imprisonment and a SAR 3 million fine (USD 800,000), the maximum punishment under Article 6 of the Anti-Cybercrime Law.
Amnesty said that on 17 September, the Court of Appeal in the Eastern Region increased his sentence to death as a hadd punishment, which is a fixed, mandatory punishment under Sharia. The organization said Anojan has appealed the death sentence.
Amnesty International said it opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception regardless of the nature or circumstances of the crime; guilt, innocence or other characteristics of the individual; or the method used by the state to carry out the execution.
