RIYADH, Saudi Arabia—A 23-year-old Saudi columnist who had fled Saudi Arabia amid a furor over his tweets on the Prophet Muhammad was deported Sunday back to his home country, where a senior Saudi official said he would likely face a charge of apostasy, which typically carries the death penalty.

Authorities in Malaysia surrendered Hamza Kashgari on Sunday morning to Saudi officials in the commercial capital, Kuala Lumpur. Mr. Kashgari had fled there Wednesday, amid a public campaign by Saudi clerics and their followers on...