Amnesty International has called on Saudi Arabia to immediately release human rights defender Raif Badawi after he has served his “unjust” 10-year prison sentence, including for “insulting Islam”, and denounced “the contempt of the Saudi authorities”.
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Arrested in 2012 and then detained, the 38-year-old blogger now had a critical website, calling among other things to limit the influence of clerics in the public sphere.
In 2014, he was sentenced to ten years in prison and 1,000 lashes. The broadcast the following year of the first public flogging session caused an international outcry.
“Raif Badawi spent a decade behind bars solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression. The Saudi authorities must ensure his immediate and unconditional release and lift the illegal travel ban imposed on him, so that he can finally be reunited with his family,” Amnesty International wrote in a statement released on Friday.
“The continued detention of Raif Badawi reveals the Saudi authorities’ utter disregard for the right to liberty, freedom of expression, and even their own legislation. It also shows that their attempt to present a progressive image to the world is nothing but a smokescreen which only serves to hide their repression,” added Heba Morayef, regional director of the NGO, quoted in the press release.
In recent years, the conservative kingdom has initiated economic and social reforms to shed its reputation as an austere country. The powers of the religious police were reduced, large entertainment events increased, and women were allowed to drive.
But this international seduction campaign fueled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman since 2017 has largely been tarnished by an increased crackdown on dissidents, from political opponents to feminist activists.
Winner of the Reporters Without Borders 2014 prize in the netizen category, Raif Badawi was also chosen in 2015 as the winner of the Sakharov Prize for freedom of expression awarded by the European Parliament.
In 2015 and 2016, he was among the candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize.