News Digest

Saudi Arabia court upholds sentence of 10 years and 1,000 lashes for blogger

Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court has upheld a 10-year prison sentence and 1,000 lashes for the jailed blogger Raif Badawi, according to the human rights group Amnesty International. Badawi was arrested in 2012 in the city of Jeddah, and later sentenced to seven years in jail and 600 lashes for setting up the website “Free Saudi Liberals” and for allegedly insulting Islam. An appeals court later overturned the ruling and ordered a retrial. In May 2014, in addition to a harsher sentence, the court ordered Badawi to pay a $266,000 fine.

This is a final decision that is irrevocable. This decision has shocked me.

Raif Badawi’s wife, Ensaf Haidar speaking to AFP news agency

In January, Badawi was lashed 50 times in public, despite widespread international outrage and calls for clemency from human rights groups. Saudi Arabia later postponed his public lashings, supposed to be conducted weekly after Friday prayers, on medical grounds, according to Amnesty. The United Nations joined a chorus of countries, including the United States, that called for Badawi to be pardoned. Badawi co-founded the Saudi Liberal Network Internet discussion group.

I was optimistic that the advent of (the Muslim fasting month of) Ramadan and the arrival of a new king would bring a pardon for the prisoners of conscience, including my husband.

Ensaf Haidar