Saudi Raif Badawi wins EU Sakharov rights prize

A Saudi blogger sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for insulting Muslim clerics has won the European Union’s prestigious Sakharov Prize for human rights. Raif Badawi was honored with the award as a symbol of the fight for freedom of speech – an announcement greeted with a standing ovation Thursday, Oct, 29, 2015 at the European Parliament assembly in Strasbourg, France. “I urge the king of Saudi Arabia to free him, so he can accept the prize,” Parliament President Martin Schulz said. (AP Photo/Hans Punz, file)

Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, who was sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in prison for insulting Islam, was awarded the European Parliament’s prestigious Sakharov human rights prize on Thursday 29th October.

The 31-year-old blogger, who was arrested in 2012, is an advocate of free speech whose public flogging in January triggered international outrage when he was subjected to a first round of 50 lashes. While earlier this month he also won the Pen Pinter Prize for standing for free speech.

Announcing the award, parliament chief Martin Schulz called on Saudi King Salman to immediately release Badawi, describing his sentence as “brutal torture” and demanding that Riyadh live up to Europe’s standards on human rights, according to AFP.

“This man has had… imposed on him one of the most cruel penalties which can only be described as brutal torture,” Schulz said. “I call on the Saudi king to immediately free him.”

The award was also hailed by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) which said he had played a major role in promoting freedom of expression and attempting to foster public debate in Saudi Arabia.

“Raif has spoken up for all Saudis who simply dream of enjoying the same rights as other human beings. He has paid dearly for his commitment and this Sakharov Prize sends a clear and strong message to his torturers,” said FIDH president Karim Lahiji.

Badawi, who co-founded the Saudi Liberal Network Internet discussion group “Free Saudi Liberals”, was detained in 2012 on cyber crime charges. Badawi’s network had announced a “day of liberalism” and called for an end to the influence of religion on public life in the kingdom.

He was arrested and the website shut down on grounds it criticized Saudi Arabia’s notorious religious police. He was initially charged in 2013, and last year a Saudi court sentenced him to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in jail.

His wife Ensaf Haidar, who fled to Canada with his children, described the award as “a message of hope and courage”.

According to an AFP source, Haidar on Tuesday said Saudi authorities had “given the green light to the resumption of Raif Badawi’s flogging”, saying it would take place “soon” at the prison where he is being held. The information was posted on a website dedicated to her husband’s plight.