SAUDI BLOGGER GETS 10 YEARS, 1000 LASHES, $267K FINE FOR 'INSULTING ISLAM'

[Wilikon]

Badawi, 31, has a long history of run-ins with the Shariah-compliant legal system. In 2008, he was arrested on apostasy charges, but he was released a day later. In 2009, Saudi officials banned him from leaving the country and froze his bank accounts.

Concerning his current sentence, Badawi's wife said, "This is terrible news and I'm absolutely shocked and devastated by it. How is it possible they could take a sentence that was already so harsh and make it even harsher? Ten years in jail and 1,000 lashes? That's unimaginable. I'm extremely scared for my husband."

Philip Luther, a director at Amnesty International, the leading human rights NGO, said:

The decision to sentence Raif Badawi to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes is outrageous. He is a prisoner of conscience who is guilty of nothing more than daring to create a public forum for discussion and peacefully exercising the right to freedom of expression. The authorities must overturn his conviction and release him immediately and unconditionally. Raif Badawi is the latest victim to fall prey to the ruthless campaign to silence peaceful activists in Saudi Arabia. The authorities seem determined to crush all forms of dissent through every means at their disposal, including imposing harsh prison sentences and corporal punishment on activists.

The Middle East director of Human Rights Watch said of the 2012 charges, "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."
An Amnesty International spokesperson commented on those initial 2012 charges, as well: "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."

In 2013, Badawi was convicted of the same charges, but he chose to appeal the measure. The appeals court upgraded his original sentence from 7 years in prison and 600 lashes to the new verdict of 10 years and 1,000 lashes. An anonymous source told CNN that Baradawi will likely appeal the new sentence, as well.

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2014/05/08/Saudi-Blogger-Gets-10-Years-1000-lashes-267k-fine-for-Insulting-Islam


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Can he pay his way out? Is there any organizations helping him? What a sad situation.

[Sindelar1938]

Completely sad and fucked up
Those Wahhabi fuckers are beyond contempt!

[bryant.coleman]

I don't even want to comment on posts related to Saudi Arabia anymore. That place is a black hole for human civilization. The US is supporting them just because they are getting their oil from the Sheikhs. Also note that no human-rights organisations would utter a word against the Saudis. When Russia banned the gay parades, they were going ballistic. But Saudi Arabia? Too powerful to touch.

[Lethn]

That's the same with China sadly, you see very little outrage against the human rights abuses they commit because America and the EU owes so much money to them.

[Wilikon]

An official UN reaction should be announced soon in 3... 2... 1...

[RodeoX]

Harsh.
When I'm in that region I have to pretend to be a christian. Atheism is against the law in SA. 

[guybrushthreepwood]

It's a crying shame that people are still punished in certain countries for stuff like this. I guess it's a reminder to not take for granted all the freedoms we actually have.

[bryant.coleman]

Harsh.
When I'm in that region I have to pretend to be a christian. Atheism is against the law in SA. 

Hmm... that will allow you to survive. But don't carry Bibles, Torah.etc with you. Non-Islamic pieces of worship are banned there and if they catches you with any of them, then expect a dozen lashes on your back.

[Elwar]

Brutal. It is quite common for those that call for peace to be attacked. In Saudi Arabia they throw you in jail, in the US they use the government media to attack you as a terrorist/traitor.

[bryant.coleman]

Ha... finally someone from the Western world had the guts to open their mouths:

Amnesty International decries sentencing of Saudi  blogger Badawi as "outrageous."

Amnesty International called Wednesday's judgment outrageous and called for the conviction to be overturned.

"He is a prisoner of conscience who is guilty of nothing more than daring to create a public forum for discussion and peacefully exercising the right to freedom of expression.," said Philip Luther, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Amnesty International.

[PeanutCoins]

Ha... finally someone from the Western world had the guts to open their mouths:

Amnesty International decries sentencing of Saudi  blogger Badawi as "outrageous."

Amnesty International called Wednesday's judgment outrageous and called for the conviction to be overturned.

"He is a prisoner of conscience who is guilty of nothing more than daring to create a public forum for discussion and peacefully exercising the right to freedom of expression.," said Philip Luther, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Amnesty International.

You know all the people have to stand up together and do the same thing he did and fight for him.  I respect a man like that, and would love to see if maybe we can petition to bring him to the USA

[bryant.coleman]

You know all the people have to stand up together and do the same thing he did and fight for him.  I respect a man like that, and would love to see if maybe we can petition to bring him to the USA

You can start an online petition, but nothing is going to happen even if it gets some one million signatures. The US and KSA are heavily inter-dependent on each other. And the role of KSA has increased significantly after the Ukrainian crisis. Keeping Abdullah ibn Abdilazīz happy is the pre-requisite for any American economic warfare against Russia.

[umair127]

Ha... finally someone from the Western world had the guts to open their mouths:

Amnesty International decries sentencing of Saudi  blogger Badawi as "outrageous."

Amnesty International called Wednesday's judgment outrageous and called for the conviction to be overturned.

"He is a prisoner of conscience who is guilty of nothing more than daring to create a public forum for discussion and peacefully exercising the right to freedom of expression.," said Philip Luther, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Amnesty International.

You know all the people have to stand up together and do the same thing he did and fight for him.  I respect a man like that, and would love to see if maybe we can petition to bring him to the USA

It is kinda sad that this happen to that poor man, I would love also to get him out of that country, and as Bryant says it probably wont happen,  Sheessh always the good people gotta suffer.

[niothor]

I don't even want to comment on posts related to Saudi Arabia anymore. That place is a black hole for human civilization. The US is supporting them just because they are getting their oil from the Sheikhs. Also note that no human-rights organisations would utter a word against the Saudis. When Russia banned the gay parades, they were going ballistic. But Saudi Arabia? Too powerful to touch.

W8 w8 w8
So we have the evil US starting war wherever it wants , trashing both iraq and afghanistan in weeks but the saudi are to powerful to touch?
Here the constipation theories are contradicting themselves.

[bryant.coleman]

So we have the evil US starting war wherever it wants , trashing both iraq and afghanistan in weeks but the saudi are to powerful to touch?

Yes. The US can invade less powerful nations such as Iraq and Afghanistan. But definitely not Saudi Arabia. If they do that, then crude oil prices will hit $500 a barrel and Obama will have to sell even his underwear to buy oil.

[noviapriani]

So we have the evil US starting war wherever it wants , trashing both iraq and afghanistan in weeks but the saudi are to powerful to touch?

Yes. The US can invade less powerful nations such as Iraq and Afghanistan. But definitely not Saudi Arabia. If they do that, then crude oil prices will hit $500 a barrel and Obama will have to sell even his underwear to buy oil.

IMAO president will have to sell his kids and wife also before he can afford those kind of oil prices.

[niothor]

So we have the evil US starting war wherever it wants , trashing both iraq and afghanistan in weeks but the saudi are to powerful to touch?

Yes. The US can invade less powerful nations such as Iraq and Afghanistan. But definitely not Saudi Arabia. If they do that, then crude oil prices will hit $500 a barrel and Obama will have to sell even his underwear to buy oil.

Do you honestly think that the Saudi Arabia army will last for more than 3 days?
Israel alone is able to trash the whole country in a week.
Let's not talk about the fact that the us has already a huge army on standby just inside the country.

The price wen't be able to reach even 200 before oil it's shipped again under us labels.


Back on the subject:
Is he going to get those 1000 lashes in a single day ? That might be enough to kill him.

[bryant.coleman]

Do you honestly think that the Saudi Arabia army will last for more than 3 days?
Israel alone is able to trash the whole country in a week.

It will be the reverse. The Saudis will destroy Israel in less than 3 days. They have got the best fighter jets, the best missiles and the best warships, all thanks to the US.

Is he going to get those 1000 lashes in a single day ? That might be enough to kill him.

No. There is a limit for the number of lashes a convicted person can receive per day. But I think that his punishment will be significantly reduced, after all this outcry. May be 20 or 30 lashes at the max.

[niothor]

Do you honestly think that the Saudi Arabia army will last for more than 3 days?
Israel alone is able to trash the whole country in a week.

It will be the reverse. The Saudis will destroy Israel in less than 3 days. They have got the best fighter jets, the best missiles and the best warships, all thanks to the US.

Just for fun I highlighted those two.
Now it might sound like :
"In case of a conflict , Saudi Arabia will trash Israel in less than 3 days thanks to the US".

Well , that contradicts a lot of conspiracy theories around here

[bryant.coleman]

Just for fun I highlighted those two.
Now it might sound like :
"In case of a conflict , Saudi Arabia will trash Israel in less than 3 days thanks to the US".

Well , that contradicts a lot of conspiracy theories around here

Possible scenarios, in case the conflict occurs. But a conflict will never occur, since both the nations are funded by the US. But that doesn't take away the fact that the Saudi military is much more capable than that of the Israelis. Demography as well, can matter a lot.