07 June 2015

Saudi court upholds blogger's 10 years and 1,000 lashes

Saudi Arabia's Supreme Court has upheld the sentence of 1,000 lashes and 10 years of imprisonment on blogger Raif Badawi, despite a foreign outcry.

Speaking from Canada, his wife Ensaf Haidar told the BBC she feared his punishment would start again on Friday.

Badawi was arrested in 2012 for "insulting Islam through electronic channels".

Saudi authorities sent his case for review amidst global protests, after the first round of lashes in January.

For four years Badawi ran the Liberal Saudi Network, which encouraged online debate on religious and political issues. [BBC] Read more