(USCIRF Chair Thomas J. Reese, S.J. holds up a picture of Raif Badawi at a July 2016 Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hearing on blasphemy laws)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) sadly marks the three-year anniversary of the blasphemy sentence handed down in Saudi Arabia to Raif Badawi, the founder and editor of Free Saudi Liberals, an online forum for diverse views.
“The Saudi government continues to imprison Raif Badawi for exercising his internationally-guaranteed rights of the freedoms of religion and expression. Mr. Badawi is a prisoner of conscience who has languished in prison, away from his wife and children, and has been flogged publicly to punish him and intimidate others,” said USCIRF Chair Thomas J. Reese, S.J. “USCIRF calls on the Saudi government to overturn his unjust sentence, release him immediately and unconditionally, and end the prosecution of individuals charged with apostasy and blasphemy. Belief must not be policed.”
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