Despite an international outcry and calls by Amnesty International for the Saudi Arabian authorities to quash the severe sentence and punishment of 1000 lashes for a charge of blasphemy, Saudi Arabian rights activist Raif Badawi was publicly flogged on Friday it is reported. This has been confirmed by Amnesty international from an eye-witness in Jeddah and from Mr Badawi’s wife.
Mr Badawi is a Saudi Arabian writer and activist and was the creator of the website “Free Saudi Liberals”
This is the first of 20 such public floggings that Mr Badawi will face after his conviction for insulting Islam through a forum/blog that his wife actually said he set up to merely examine and provide people the opportunity to discuss their Islamic faith. The forum was taken down by the Saudi authorities and Mr Badawi handed a sentence of 1000 lashes in 2014.
It is reported by an eye-witness that Mr Badawi raised his head towards the sky, closing his eyes and arched his back in preparation for his flogging and remained silent after it but it was obvious it was said through his face and his body that he was in pain. Mr Raif Badawi was “beaten by a officer on his back and legs, who counted the lashes until they reached 50” the witness states.
This flogging it is worth noting took plays only days after the Saudi Arabian government and authority announced their condemnation of the actions of the terrorists who last week killed staff at the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris.
It is also worth mentioning that Amnesty International gravely concerned for Mr Badawi’s lawyer Waleed Abu al-Khair a well known human rights lawyer in Saudi Arabia following his Mr Badawi’s arrest an
d conviction in 2012-4. Amnesty International is running a separate campaign for Waleed Abu al-Khair, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison last July. It is unfortunately expected that he could also face a similar sentence to Mr Badawi handed down as well as his prison term that he currently serving.
Cicero Lounge has today sent a letter to the Saudi Authorities immediately calling for his sentence to be either commuted immediately or nullified. Anyone wishing to contact the Saudi embassy and respectfully call for action to the following: Prime Minister Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, also Deputy Prime Minister Ministry of Defense HRH Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud and His Excellency Adel A. Al-Jubeir was appointed by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz
(Email Saudi Arabian Embassy in the UK on ukemb@mofa.gov.sa or cms@saudiembassy.net – Saudi Embassy in US)
Nothing surprises me that they do in that crazy country. Were talking about a place where women cannot show up in public or drive….this ” culture” are nothing but cavemen troglodytes and the fact that any civilised countries do business with them shows how much money is valued over human rights. Its pathetic thast in this day and age these fanatics still oppress and torture humans for no reason other than that they can. Screw you, Saudi family right in the ass. I hope karma finds you in this life or the next.
I totally agree, and even though people cite that Saudi Arabia should be left to enforce its laws as they see fit through their adherence to their scriptures (the Koran) I do not believe that Shiah law and Islamic laws in this country are justifiable and believe they are totally medieval and centre around inequality I also believe that religious courts are arcane and completely biased towards an interpretation of the Koran that promotes inequality,, subordination and preaches hate and should not exist in the 21st Century.