Saudi Arabia Overturns Sri Lankan Migrant Worker’s Death Sentence Over Prophet Remarks on Facebook

Saudi Arabia's Supreme Court overturns death sentence imposed on a Sri Lankan migrant worker over Prophet remark.

Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court has overturned the death sentence imposed on a Sri Lankan migrant worker over a comment he made on Facebook, Sri Lanka’s deputy foreign minister said on Wednesday. Anojan Sivarasa, 27, was sentenced to death in September after being convicted of blasphemy against Islam and the Prophet Muhammad over his comment.

Sri Lanka’s Deputy Foreign Minister Arun Hemachandra confirmed in a Facebook post that the verdict had been overturned.

Hemachandra said, in a "major relief", the Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia on Tuesday set aside the death sentence imposed on Sivarasa.

He said this verdict was due to sustained diplomatic and legal efforts by the government of Sri Lanka.

The minister appreciated the Saudi Arabia government, the Sri Lankan ambassador, the secretary and officials of the Foreign Ministry, chairman and members of Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau and the legal teams of both countries for their dedicated efforts.

It is not clear if Sivarasa will remain in detention and if there will be further legal proceedings.

The migrant worker was initially sentenced to five years in prison as well as…

Original source: https://www.timesnownews.com/world