A Victorian man has been sentenced to one-year imprisonment and 500 lashes in Saudi Arabia for violating the country's blasphemy law.

A Saudi court on Tuesday found Mansor Almaribe, 45, a father of five, guilty of insulting the companions of prophet Muhammad, Islam's holy figure, during a pilgrimage in Mecca last month and imposed the punishment of two years imprisonment and 500 lashes. The court reduced the prison term to one year.

The ambassador to Saudi Arabia has talked to local authorities to help Mr Almaribe, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

"The Ambassador will urgently pursue avenues for leniency with relevant authorities,'' a DFAT spokeswoman said, according to Courier Mail.

The DFAT also issued a statement that it is against corporal punishment.

Mr Almaribe has been detained in Mecca, Islam's holiest city and the site of the annual pilgrimage of Muslims called hajj, since Nov. 14.

Australian officials had been refused entry at the prison door when they tried to visit him and were told that Saudi law prohibits non-Muslims from entering the city.

Meanwhile, Almaribe's son, Jamal, who was with him when he was arrested, fears that the lashes might kill his father.

"Five hundred slashes on his back, and he has back problems. I wouldn't think he'd survive 50," Jamal told Australian Broadcasting Corp., according to the Associated Press.