Blog by Marc Aldrich “Raif is not a criminal. He is a writer and a free thinker: that is all. Raif Badawi’s crime is being a free voice in a country which does not accept anything other than a single opinion and a single thought.”—Ensaf Haidar Ensaf Haidar, the wife of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, […]
In German – by Helene Aecherli ANABELLE – Sie lernte ihn übers Telefon kennen und heiratete ihn gegen den Willen ihrer Eltern: Ensaf Haidar ist die Frau des saudischen Bloggers Raif Badawi, dem derzeit bekanntesten politischen Gefangenen der Welt. Um ihn vor dem Tod zu retten, startete sie eine beispiellose Kampagne. READ MORE.
DEUTSCHE WELLE – Published in April 2015 – Reminder. Articles written by the imprisoned Saudi blogger and free speech activist Raif Badawi have now been translated into German, French, English, Italian, etc. and published as a book. His severe punishment is evoking outrage in the West. Religious establishment uneasy There can only be one explanation […]
THE GUARDIAN – Raif Badawi was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for setting up a website that championed free speech in the autocratic kingdom. His blog, the Saudi Free Liberals Forum, was shut down after his arrest in 2012. Ian Black analyses extracts from his key published Arabic writings that show […]
BREITBART.COM – A court in Saudi Arabia sentenced reformist writer Zuhair Kutbi to fours years in prison and banned him from travel. The Saudi media reported the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) convicted him “on charges of sedition, inciting public opinion and reducing the government’s prestige.” by Mary Chastain They cut the sentence to only two years, […]
Saudi Arabia could crack down on extremist clerics at home, and not just those who explicitly back Islamic State. Hateful ideology is so prevalent in the kingdom, it’s no wonder that at least 2,500 Saudis have joined Islamic State. Saudi leaders should also fulfill their promise to remove from state-issued textbooks passages so intolerant — […]
ECUMENICAL NEWS – «The U.N. statement, written by special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression David Kaye was endorsed by seven others. It cited “a string of severe punishments against individuals for the holding and expressing of opinions, including human rights defenders and bloggers Raif Badawi and Mikhlif al Shammari, and the poet Ashraf […]
By Susana Mas. CBC – Canada The case of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi was raised by Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion during a meeting with Adel Al Jubeir, Saudi Arabia’s minister of foreign affairs, in Ottawa on Thursday. The case of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi was raised by Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion during […]
THE ECONOMIST – ENSAF Haidar cut a brave, dignified and somehow lonely figure today as she received a standing ovation from the European Parliament and collected a highly prestigious human-rights award on behalf of her husband, the jailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, whose internet activities have earned him a horrific sentence of 1,000 public lashes. […]
OFFICIAL UN WEBSITE – GENEVA (16 December 2015) – United Nations human rights expert David Kaye today expressed grave concern at the growing repression of freedom of expression in Saudi Arabia. He noted a string of severe punishments against individuals for the holding and expressing of opinions, including human rights defenders and bloggers, Raif Badawi […]