The story of Raïf Badawi in nine points


Saudi blogger Raïf Badawi was released on Friday after ten years in detention, a story that will have had many twists summarized in nine points.

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1. Free Saudi Liberals

In 2008, Raïf Badawi and the Saudi women’s rights activist, Souad al-Shamani, created the militant site Free Saudi Liberals (Free the Saudi liberals) which advocates religious liberalisation.

2. First arrest

Raif Badawi was arrested for the first time in 2008 for his political activism. He pleaded in particular for the end of the influence of religion on public life. He was accused of violating a cybercrime law that punishes the attack “on public order and morals and on religious values”.

3. Conviction

The blogger was convicted and imprisoned in 2012 on a series of charges against him, including blasphemy against Islam and even apostasy.

4. Lashes

Raif Badawi’s sentence included torture and 1,000 lashes. The first 50 blows were inflicted in public in 2015, as a witness told Amnesty International.

He was due under his sentence to receive 50 lashes a week for 20 weeks, but further flogging sessions were suspended in the face of international outcry.

5. Exile from his family

Raïf’s wife, Ensaf Haidar, and her three children were forced to leave the country for Lebanon and then Egypt. They obtained political asylum in Canada in 2013 and Canadian citizenship in 2018.

6. Selection certificate

Quebec paved the way for Raïf Badawi’s exile to Canada in 2015, where his wife and three children live, by placing him on a priority list of potential immigrants for humanitarian reasons.

7. Imprisonment of his sister

His sister, Samar Badawi, also an activist for women’s rights, will be imprisoned in 2011 for having denounced her father who prevented her from marrying the man of her choice. His guardianship will be transferred to one of his uncles. In 2010, Raïf also publicly opposed his father in solidarity with his sister.

8. Release

Although he was released on Friday, Mr. Badawi remains subject to a ban on leaving the kingdom for ten years, according to the Canadian branch of Amnesty International.

Raif Badawi’s sister, Samar Badawi, and activist Nassima al-Sadah were also released in 2021 and remain stranded in the kingdom.

9. Recognitions

The blogger won the 2014 RSF prize in the netizen category. He was also chosen in 2015 by the leaders of the political groups of the European Parliament as the winner of the Sakharov Prize for freedom of expression. In 2015 and 2016, he was among the nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize.

– With Agence France-Presse




Reference-www.journaldequebec.com

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