Karnataka man, arrested in Saudi Arabia for Facebook post, returns home after 600 days

Harish Bangera welcomed by his wife and daughter. (ANI Photo)

Thirty-four-year-old Harish Bangera, an air-conditioning technician reunited with his family on Wednesday after spending as many as 600 days in a prison in Saudi Arabia for a blasphemous Facebook post he didn`t make.

Harish was arrested on December 22, 2019, for making blasphemous remarks about Mecca and using abusive language about the King of Saudi Arabia on Facebook.

However, the Karnataka police who took up the investigation of the case found that the contemptuous remarks were posted by two persons in the Udupi district by creating a fake Facebook Id in the name of the victim.

The police arrested the accused persons, Abdul Huyez and Abdul Thuyez in October 2020. The family of Bangera submitted the investigation reports to the Saudi authorities and finally managed to get him released from Saudi prison.

Bangera arrived at Kempegowda International Airport on Wednesday said, he thanks the Karnataka police for finding the real culprits. He further thanked everyone who helped his family to get him released. Though the submissions were made, the courts in Saudi were not operating due to Covid-19. "Otherwise, I could have been released much earlier," he said.

Bangera was welcome by his wife Sumana, daughter Hansika and friends.