About Raif Badawi
Raif bin Muhammad Badawi (Arabic: رائف بن محمد بدوي, romanized: Rāʼif ibn Muḥammad Badawī, also transcribed Raef bin Mohammed Badawi; born 13 January 1984) is a Saudi writer, dissident and activist, the creator of the website Free Saudi Liberals. Badawi was arrested in 2012 on a charge of "insulting Islam through electronic channels" and brought to court on several charges, including apostasy. In 2013, he was convicted on several charges and sentenced to seven years in prison, and 600 lashes. In 2014 his sentence was increased to 10 years in prison, 1,000 lashes, and a fine of one million Saudi riyals. The flogging was to be carried out over 20 weeks. The first 50 lashes were administered on 9 January 2015. The second flogging was postponed more than twelve times. The reason for the most recent postponement is unknown, but the previous scheduled floggings were delayed due to Badawi's poor health. Badawi is known to have hypertension, and his health worsened after the flogging began. His wife, Ensaf Haidar, who took refuge in Canada after her life was threatened in Saudi Arabia, said that Badawi would not survive further flogging. Ensaf Haidar has given a series of televised interviews about Badawi's plight, including at the 2016 Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy. The Canada-based Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights acts as Badawi's international legal counsel. The organization has led both public advocacy campaigns as well as private diplomatic efforts to help secure Badawi's release from prison. While his exact location was unknown, it was reported that Badawi was imprisoned in Dhahban Central Prison. On 11 March 2022, his family reported that after 10 years Badawi was released from prison. While he is no longer in prison, his 10-year passport ban continues and he may not leave the country. Al Jazeera quoted an anonymous interior ministry official as saying on 12 March, "the sentence handed down to Raif was 10 years in prison followed by a travel ban for the same length of time. The court ruling holds up and is final.... He cannot leave the kingdom for another 10 years unless a [royal] pardon is issued." First detained on apostasy charges in 2008, Badawi was released after a day of questioning. Further lashings were postponed because the injuries from the first had not healed and Badawi was in poor medical condition. With the support of the Giordano Bruno Foundation and other organizations, a GoFundMe campaign was created to help Badawi's family raise funds to cover the fines imposed on him prior to his release.
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