Saudi Blogger to Receive 1,000 Lashes and Ten Years in Prison

Posted on June 7, 2015

A Saudi blogger will receive 1,000 lashes and ten years in prison. The BBC News reports that the extreme sentence has been upheld by Saudi Arabia's Supreme Court. Raif Badawi was charged in 2012 for "insulting Islam through electronic channels."

Badawai ran the Liberal Saudi Network for four years. People could debate religious and political issues on the website. Amnesty International reports that Badawi received 50 of his 1,000 lashes in January. Amnesty International has also been sharing the "Blogging Is Not a Crime" graphic on Twitter. They also have an online petition calling for Badawi's release.

The Wikipedia entry for Raif Badawi says Badawi is in poor health. It also says his wife is concerned he will not be able to survive the lashes because he has hypertension. Badawi's wife and children have been living in Canada since they obtained political asylum in 2013.

The Guardian has shared some of Badawi's writing in an article. In one excerpt Badawi talks about the values of secularism. Badawi says, "Secularism respects everyone and does not offend anyone ... Secularism ... is the practical solution to lift countries (including ours) out of the third world and into the first world."