26 December 2013

Saudi activist faces new execution threat

An online activist in Saudi Arabia whose views angered religious conservatives is threatened with apostasy charges that could result in his execution, CNN reports.

Raif Badawi, former editor of the "Saudi Arabian Liberals" website, is already serving a seven-year jail sentence but a judge has now recommended that he be tried for apostasy, according to his wife.

Badawi has been imprisoned since June 2012, having been initially detained on charges that included "setting up a website that undermines general security" and ridiculing Islamic religious figures. [www.al-bab.com] Read more