Raif Badawi should be in Canada, with his wife and their three children. Instead he is spending time in Briman prison, Jeddah City, Saudi Arabia. Amnesty is calling for is immediate and unconditional release.
Authorities arrested Raif Badawi on 17 June 2012. They charged him with insulting Islam and creating the 'Saudi Arabian Liberals' website for social and political debate. The charges related to articles Raif wrote criticizing religious figures.
Raif Badawi's case bounced back and forth between courts until 7 May 2014. On that day, the Criminal Court pronounced a sentence of 10 years in prison, 1000 lashes and a fine of 1 million riyals (about $290,000 CDN). After he serves a decade in jail, he is also forbidden to travel for the following decade and from participating in the media.
While international pressure appears to have brought a halt to the flogging after the first 50 of 1,000 lashes in January 2015, Raif Badawi remains behind bars facing an uncertain future. In June 2015, the Supreme Court upheld the cruel and unjust sentence of 950 more lashes, and 10 year prison sentence. As long as that sentence is upheld, Raif Badawi faces the weekly ordeal of wondering whether the flogging will resume.
Your voice is needed now. Please send a message to His Excellency Naif Bandir A. Alsudairy, Ambassador for Saudi Arabia to free Raif Badawi immediately.
Your Excellency:
Everyone has the right to peacefully express their beliefs and opinions. No one should be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment for any reason. Amnesty International believes Raif Badawi is a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression.
We call on your government to:
- Drop all charges against Raif Badawi, and release him without delay or conditions on his freedom.
- Until he is free, please ensure that Raif Badawi is protected from torture and other ill-treatment, including his sentence of flogging.
[Your comments here]
Sincerely,
[Your name]
