一名澳大利亚男子因亵渎神明被沙特阿拉伯法官判处鞭笞500次以及一年监禁。

Officials in Canberra said they had been in touch with the Saudi authorities to request leniency（宽大，仁慈） .

Australian reports named the man as 45-year-old Mansor Almaribe from Shepparton in Victoria.

Reports said he was chronically（长期地，慢性地） ill and family members said they were extremely worried about his health.

"Five hundred lashes on his back, and he has back problems. I wouldn't think he'd survive 50," his son Mohammed told Australia's ABC News.

Almaribe had travelled to the country for a pilgrimage（朝拜） to Mecca.

He was arrested nearly a month ago, but details of the charges against him have not been made public.

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs said the judge initially handed down a sentence of two years in jail and 500 lashes, but later reduced the jail time.

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