Story By: Alex Cope, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash

Newsflash

A man in Saudi Arabia could face the death penalty after he was arrested over this clip of a foot stepping on the Quran just days before Ramadan.

The man, who has not been named, reportedly uploaded the clip to social media where it was widely shared in the Gulf state.

In the video, a Quran can be seen being thrown to the floor and stepped on with a bare foot. The clip was reportedly uploaded to an Instagram account which proclaimed “repentance” in its bio section and the only upload was the video.

Reports said the video caused outrage in Saudi Arabia with some netizens calling for the person responsible arrest and death.

Those found guilty of apostasy (abandoning their religious belief) face the death penalty in Saudi Arabia where strict blasphemy laws remain.

It is unclear if the suspect has been charged.

The incident comes just days before the holy month of Ramadan which is set to begin later this week.

The incident comes as Saudi blogger Raif Badawi is serving a 10-year prison sentence and suffered public flogging for running a blog entitled ‘Free Saudi Liberals’.

He was arrested in January 2012 and found guilty of “insulting Islam through electronic channels”.

Badawi’s lawyer Waleed Abu Al-Kheir, who founded the organisation “Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi Arabia” was arrested in 2014 and given a 15-year prison sentence for “undermining the regime and officials” and “inciting public opinion”.

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