Raif Badawi
| Raif Badawi | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Born | January 13, 9184 Khobar, Saudi Arabia | ||
| Spouse | Ensaf Haidar (wife) | ||
Raif Badawi (Arabic: رائف بدوي, others translations Raef Badawi) is a Saudi blogger, writer, activist, and political dissident, most well know his arrest in 2012 on the charges of "insulting Islam through electronic channels" on his blog, Free Saudi Liberals.[1] Along with the charges of "insulting Islam" was apostasy, which carries the automatic death penalty in Saudi Arabia.[2] After the first trial in 2013 he was sentenced to 600 lashes, to be delivered fifty at a time weekly, and seven years in prison. In 2014 after an appeal the sentence was increased to ten years in prison and 1,000 lashes.[3] He received the first 50 lashes on January 9, 2015. Badawi was supposed to be flogged every two weeks after that but has not due to his poor health; his wife Ensaf Haidar noted that he suffers from hypertension and further flogging could kill him.[4] Badawi insists he is a practicing Muslim despite apostasy charges.[5]
References
- Jump up ↑ PEN International/IFEX (11 January 2013). Prominent Saudi writer’s safety at risk after arrest. The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information. Retrieved on 1 March 2017.
- Jump up ↑ Saudi Arabia - Laws Criminalizing Apostasy Library of Congress (May 2014)
- Jump up ↑ "Saudi Arabia is giving an atheist blogger 1,000 lashes", The Independent, 2016-10-21. (en-GB)
- Jump up ↑ Raif Badawi granted Quebec immigration selection certificate
- Jump up ↑ "Saudi blogger receives first 50 lashes of sentence for 'insulting Islam'", Guardian, 10 January 2015. Retrieved on 2017-03-04.
