07 December 2011 | 05:21:12 PM | Source: AAP
Saudi Arabia is known as the birthplace of Islam. (AAP)
An Australian man has been sentenced to 500 lashes and a year in jail in Saudi Arabia, with his family fearing he won't survive the punishment.
Mansor Almaribe, from the Victorian town of Shepparton, was found guilty of blasphemy by a Saudi Arabian court on Tuesday.
The 45-year-old father of five was arrested in the city of Medina on November 14 while making the Hajj pilgrimage and accused of insulting companions of the prophet Mohammed.
