Saudi Arabia: Free Blogger Sentenced to Flogging

Raif Badawi: 50 lashes of cruel 1000 lash sentence scheduled for Friday! Please take action

Raif Badawi should be in Montreal today, with his wife and their three children. Instead he is in Briman prison, Jeddah city, Saudi Arabia.

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.

Since March 2011 the authorities have continued a relentless campaign of repression in the name of security. The authorities have cracked down on peaceful activists calling for reforms and on demonstrators protesting against human rights violations. Those who express dissent face arrest and imprisonment whether they are critics, bloggers, activists or academics. Raif Badawi is just one of many.

Your voice is needed now! Please sign the petition urging the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Canada to help free Raif from his sentence and uphold his basic human rights.