Family Pleads for Jailed Founder of Liberal Forum→

Mohammed Jamjoom reports:

Her three children, including 5-year-old Myriam, think their father’s just delayed by work. But Raif Badawi, 30, has been imprisoned since being arrested in June. He is accused of, among other things, breaking Sharia law and starting a website that infringed on religious values.

According to Haidar, her husband just wanted to encourage discussion about religion in his homeland. But starting a liberal Internet forum in conservative Saudi Arabia can be a dangerous pursuit.

Calling Badawi a “blogger” is inaccurate since he never maintained a blog. “Forum founder” would be a better description. To his credit, Jamjoom never describes Badawi as a blogger in the story, but it appears that CNN editors put it in the headline and the highlights because it is shorter.

Apostasy Charge Against Saudi Activist Dismissed

The apostasy case against Saudi activist Raif Badawi has been dismissed, his lawyer Waleed Abu Alkhair said on Twitter today. “It was not proven to the judges that the accused has insulted God or the Prophet,” Abu Alkhair added.

Badawi, the founder of a liberal internet forum, was arrested in Jeddah in June 2012. He is accused him of violating Islamic values, breaking Sharia law, blasphemy and mocking religious symbols using a website on the internet. Last December he was referred to a higher court for alleged apostasy, a charge that could lead to the death penalty.

Amnesty International, which considers Badawi to be a prisoner of conscience detained solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression, accused the Saudi government of using capital offense to stifle debate. “Even in Saudi Arabia where state repression is rife, it is beyond the pale to seek the death penalty for an activist whose only ‘crime’ was to enable social debate online,” said Philip Luther, Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Program.

“Raif Badawi’s trial for ‘apostasy’ is a clear case of intimidation against him and others who seek to engage in open debates.”

Criticism of religion is rarely tolerated in Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy that applies a strict interpretation of Islam. Prominent liberal writer Turki al-Hamad was detained last month for publishing controversial tweets about Islamists. Young writer Hamza Kashgari was arrested in February 2012 after he tweeted about Prophet Mohammed and he remains in prison.

Amnesty Urges Saudi Government to Release Jailed Activist→

Amnesty International joined Human Rights Watch in condemning the Saudi government legal action against activist Raif Badawi. In a statement published on its website today, Amnesty called the Saudi government to stop prosecuting people for expressing their opinions. “Raif Badawi’s trial for ‘apostasy’ is a clear case of intimidation against him and others who seek to engage in open debates about the issues that Saudi Arabians face in their daily lives,” said Philip Luther, Director of Amnesty Internationals Middle East and North Africa Program. “He is a prisoner of conscience who must be released immediately and unconditionally.”

Rights Group Urges Saudi Government to Drop Charges Against Activist

The Saudi government should drop all charges against Raif Badawi, the detained activist and founder of a liberal forum, Human Rights Watch said today.

“Badawi’s life hangs in the balance because he set up a liberal website that provided a platform for an open and peaceful discussion about religion and religious figures,” said Eric Goldstein, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Saudi Arabia needs to stop treating peaceful debate as a capital offense.”

Badawi was arrested in Jeddah last June, and he has been on trial for the past few months. The government is accusing him of violating Islamic values, breaking Sharia law, blasphemy and mocking religious symbols using a website on the internet. Last Monday, a judge at a lower court in Jeddah referred Badawi to a higher court, saying he “could not give a verdict in a case of apostasy,” according a rights activist who spoke to AFP.

The case against Badawi aims “to punish him and intimidate others who dare to debate matters of religion,” Goldstein said. “The authorities should drop the charges against him.”

Saudi Activist Faces Apostasy Charge→

New twist in the strange case of Raif Badawi:

A Saudi court on Monday referred a rights activist to a higher court for alleged apostasy, a charge that could lead to the death penalty in the ultra-conservative kingdom, activists said.

(Via Sultan al-Qassemi)

Raif Badawi to Be Set Free?→

The verdict in the case of the Saudi Liberal Network founder Raif Badawi has been postponed, again, the local news website Sabq reported today, for the same reason it was postponed the first time last week: the accuser, Badawi’s father, was a no-show in court.

Sources told Sabq that most charges against Badawi would be dropped. The disobedience charge would be dropped because his father failed to show up, and the charges connected to his internet forum would dropped due to lack of jurisdiction. Badawi would be released from jail on the same day, the same sources said.

The Jeddah court will announced its verdict on Saturday, October 6. ♦

Raif Badawi Verdict Postponed→

Al-Riyadh daily is reporting that a court in Jeddah has postponed the verdict in the case of Raif Badawi, founder of the Saudi Liberal Network internet forum, because the accuser, who happens to be Badawi’s father, was not present. The father told the court he could not come because he is traveling abroad.

Yes, Raif Badawi is being sued by his father who is accusing his son of disobedience. Other charges Badawi is facing include, according to the paper, violating Islamic values, breaking Sharia law, blasphemy and mocking religious symbols using a website on the internet.

The newspaper calls Badawi a “blogger” but this is not accurate because he has not actually maintained a blog before. He is the owner of an online forum. Some of the charges against him relate to threads posted by members of his forum and not by him. Badawi was arrested last June. The court will announced its verdict on Wednesday, October 3. ♦