Is It Me or Is Everything Falling Apart?

09 OCT 2026.

A Facebook comment should never become a death sentence. Yet Amnesty International reports that Anojan Sivarasa, a 24-year-old Sri Lankan migrant worker, faces execution in Saudi Arabia for a comment authorities considered insulting to the Prophet Muhammad. He reportedly deleted it and issued a video apology. That did not save him from prosecution.

According to Amnesty, he initially received five years in prison and an approximately $800,000 fine. An appeals court increased the punishment to death on September 17. Amnesty also says he had no access to a lawyer before his initial sentencing. He has appealed the death sentence.

Consider what that means. A young man expressed something offensive. The state responded by claiming the authority to extinguish his existence. No explanation about religious sensitivity can make that proportionate. No appeal to tradition can make it just.

Religious freedom includes the right to believe. It also includes the right to question and disagree. A government that enforces reverence through the threat of execution substitutes terror for conviction. Forced silence demonstrates fear. It proves nothing about the truth of a belief.

And where are the uncompromising demands from governments that describe human rights as universal? Principles cannot depend on whether the offending government is strategically useful. Diplomatic relationships should create opportunities to intervene.

I oppose the death penalty. This case exposes its cruelty with particular clarity. An irreversible punishment hangs over a man because of words.

Overturn the sentence. Release him. No government should possess the power to turn wounded religious feelings into a warrant for death.

Anger as man sentenced to death for Facebook comment

The comment was reportedly screenshotted and passed to Saudi authorities and to his employer, which led to his arrest

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The Waifs performing “Crazy Train” at WaveAid in 2005 is a reminder to venture beyond the familiar names and discover something unexpected. Recorded at the Sydney Cricket Ground, this performance belongs to a moment when musicians gathered for a purpose larger than themselves. There is something wonderfully inviting about revisiting live music from another era. No endless scrolling. Just give a band your attention and let the song unfold. Sometimes the best thing the internet does is bring an old stage back within reach.

The Waifs – Crazy Train (Wave Aid 2005)

The Waifs perform ‘Crazy Train’ live at the Sydney Cricket Ground on the 29th of January 2005 for Wave Aid