COLOMBO, Oct. 15 -- Saudi Arabia's Supreme Court has overturned the death sentence given to a Sri Lankan man over a Facebook comment about the Prophet Muhammad, Sri Lanka's deputy foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Arun Hemachandra announced the decision in a Facebook post, Middle East Eye reported, and thanked Riyadh for agreeing to commute the sentence. The man, Anojan Sivarasa, remains in prison, and nothing in the announcement says when he might be released.

The outlet also set out how the case began. Sivarasa answered another user's derogatory comment about a Hindu deity by insulting the Prophet in a comment thread. He deleted it and posted an apology video, but a screenshot reached his employer and Saudi officials, and he was arr...