The Supreme Court of the Saudi Arabia kingdom has recently announced that the blogger Raif Badawi has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and a terrible 1,000 lashes. Even if the international response for the fate of Badawi has been active and people from all around the world have pledged against the controversial legislature and way of dealing with that the Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia sees as criminals, the sentence of the judges is irrevocable. The world is shocked to hear the story of the Saudi blogger convicted to 10 years in prison and, more distressing, an amount of 1,000 lashes.
The international community has expressed itself numerous times on the case of the Saudi blogger Raif Badawi. However, their obvious disagreement with the ways of the Saudi Supreme Court and of the Saudi administration has not impressed the authorities of the Arabic country. Actually, 3 months ago, the kingdom in the Gulf has said in a statement that the officials have known “surprise and dismay” in response to the demonstrations which took place in the outside world and also through the means of the world wide web.
Moreover, a statement was released at that time, in connection to the implication of the international community in the business of Saudi Arabia. The foreign ministry has stated that they do not tolerate the international interference in the affairs of the kingdom.
Raif Badawi was arrested in 2012. The Saudi Arabia authorities have accused him over insults against Islam via electronic means of communication.
Badawi had been running the Liberal Saudi Network for a period of four year prior to his arrest in 2012. The object of the Liberal Saudi Network was encouraging debates on subjects in connection to politics and religion.
When people from outside Saudi Arabia have come to know the story of the blogger Raif Badawi, the authorities in the Saudi kingdom have sent his file for a review by higher institutions of justice.
The first time Badawi was punished for his liberal activity was in January 2015. He received then the first 50 lashes. The event shocked an entire world. The rest of the lashes he will receive have been postponed.
Images taken with a mobile phone camera have shown Raif Badawi getting punished by a security forces member. The video has caused the world to protest, and now groups of protesters all around the world meet every Friday to demonstrate against the justice in the Saudi Arabia, on the day when the lashes of Badawi are scheduled.
Image Source: BBC
Joe Hennessey
