The family of Raif Badawi, one of Saudi Arabia's most prominent political prisoners, has said the blogger is free after a decade in prison. Badawi had been lashed for allegedly "insulting Islam" on his online forum.
Badawi's wife Ensaf Haidar announced the blogger's release on social media
Blogger Raif Badawi has been released after spending 10 years in a Saudi prison, his wife Ensaf Haidar said on Friday.
Badawi, now 38, is a founder of a Free Saudi Liberals website, a forum aimed at fostering debate about his native Saudi Arabia and discuss the separation of religion and the state. He was detained in 2012, and eventually sentenced to 10 years in prison for "insulting Islam," cybercrime and disobeying his father, which is a crime in the conservative kingdom.
He was also sentenced to 1,000 lashes and fined 1 million Saudi riyals (€224,000/$266,000). He was publicly flogged in 2015, receiving 50 lashes, but further lashings were suspended following international outcry. The country eventually banned flogging as a punishment in 2020. Badawi's prison term expired in February.
The blogger's sister, Samar Badawi, was detained in July 2018 on suspicion of harming state interests. She was released in 2021.
Barred from leaving the country
Raif Badawi's fate became a symbol of oppression in Saudi Arabia. His wife Ensaf Haidar lead an international campaign for his release, with many activists and organizations across the world joining the effort. Haidar has been granted political asylum in Canada, where she now lives with their three children. The four are now Canadian citizens.
"Raif called me. He is free," his wife Haidar told the AFP news agency on Friday.
One of his daughters, Nawja Badawi, told the agency she can hardly believe the news.
"I jumped when I found out. I can't wait to see my dad, I'm so excited," the 18-year-old said.
It was not clear when and how the blogger would be reunited with his family, however, as Badawi will likely be banned from leaving the his native country for another decade
Badawi unaware of international support
Speaking to DW ahead of Badawi's release, she said that Saudi society was changing.
"Everything that Raif and I wished for the country [Saudi Arabia] is coming to fruition," she said. Saudi Arabia's royal rulers "are working for more openness," she added. "More freedom for women, access to non-religious studies for them, allowing them to drive and many other things."
She also said the blogger was not aware of the widespread support he enjoys across the world.
"He does not have internet access," she told DW. "He calls me when he can from the public phone booth of the prison. We have so little time, we talk about the children and about life."
The dissident has faced health problems and mental health crisis during his imprisonment, according to his wife.
Badawi has been awarded a number of international prizes during his imprisonment, including the European Union's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 2015 and the DW Freedom of Speech award the same year.
dj/msh (AP, AFP, dpa, KNA)
Opinion: Raif Badawi is free, but world must speak out for other jailed journalists
Blogger Raif Badawi has been released from Saudi prison after completing his sentence. But ongoing restrictions on his freedom and a crackdown on free press means the world can't afford to be silent, says Justin Shilad.
Governments around the world should raise their voices on behalf of all imprisoned journalists, says Justin Shilad
After nearly a decade behind bars, Saudi authorities have finally released Raif Badawi from prison. Badawi, a blogger who used his writings and online forums to advocate for secularism and liberal values, was arrested in June 2012 and sentenced a year later to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes. He endured 50 lashes as part of his sentence, but global pressure may have saved him from even more.
While Badawi was in prison, Saudi Arabia witnessed two seemingly contradictory trends. Under the de facto reign of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia has turned into one of the top jailers of journalists worldwide and an epicenter of surveillance and spyware technology. The crown prince himself has gained notoriety in 2018 for likely ordering the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post.
Yet at the same time, the crown prince escaped any direct penalty from the US government and the international community, and the world has accepted Saudi Arabia under Mohammed bin Salman as an increasingly important actor on the global stage.
Badawi reflected changing views on religion, liberalism
But Badawi's arrest and sentencing came years before bin Salman's ascent to power, and his writing is an example of how independent journalism continues in one of the world's most censored states.
Badawi started an online discussion forum in 2006 where Saudis could discuss politics and religion. By 2008, he had already been detained at least once, yet he continued to develop the forum until it became the Free Saudi Liberals network, with thousands of registered users. Over the next few years, he continued to help run the forum while publishing columns advocating secularism and liberalism in local and regional outlets.
Ensaf Haidar, Badawi's wife, has consistently called for her husband's release
Badawi's writing and work moderating the forums reflected Saudis' changing views on the role of religion and liberalism in Saudi society — a dynamic that Saudi authorities have alternately denied and attempted to take credit for.
A Saudi court responded to Badawi's writings by sentencing him to seven years in prison and 600 lashes — a sentence that was increased on appeal in May 2014 to 10 years in prison, 1,000 lashes, a fine of 1 million Saudi riyal ($267,000/€244,000) and a 10-year travel ban after his prison sentence. Saudi authorities publicly lashed Badawi 50 times in January 2015, but repeatedly postponed the remaining sessions, ostensibly out of concern for his health.
Saudi government sensitive to criticism
But the international outcry after the first round of lashes suggests Saudi authorities are indeed concerned about worldwide public opinion and their global standing. After Khashoggi's murder, the Saudi government responded with ferocity when Canada's Foreign Ministry criticized the arrest of Badawi's sister, Samar Badawi, in 2019.
If the Saudi government's expulsion of the Canadian ambassador in response was meant as a warning to other countries who would criticize the country's rights record, it should also indicate how sensitive they are to criticism.
Raif Badawi may be free, but Saudi authorities continue to impose a travel ban on him and others, subjecting him to another unbearable decade of separation from his family. Meanwhile, the Saudi government continues to enjoy the military support of the US and EU member states, even as other journalists languish in prison in deplorable circumstances. The international condemnation that followed the first round of Badawi's lashings has subsided, as Saudi authorities' violations against journalists multiplied.
Need for continued international pressure
The international community must keep the pressure on Saudi authorities to release all other detained journalists, stop imposing onerous restrictions on those who have been released from jail, end their regime of censorship and surveillance and meaningfully pursue justice for Khashoggi's murder. As horrifying as it was for Badawi to have to endure 50 lashes, there's reason to believe that international pressure kept him from a grimmer fate.
Badawi's release from prison should not signal a return to business as usual with the kingdom — instead, it should be a reminder of the stakes of silence, and the need for continued international pressure.
Over the past three years, the ongoing imprisonment of Saudi journalists and lack of accountability for Khashoggi's murder has drawn an uncomfortable silence from the international community. With Badawi out of jail, governments around the world should raise their voices once again on behalf of all other imprisoned journalists. If he wasn't afraid to speak out, then countries that claim to value free expression shouldn't be afraid to either.
Justin Shilad is a senior researcher on Middle East and North Africa at the Committee to Protect Journalists.
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Blogger Raif Badawi has been released from Saudi prison after completing his sentence. But ongoing restrictions on his freedom and a crackdown on free press means the world can't afford to be silent, says Justin Shilad.
Governments around the world should raise their voices on behalf of all imprisoned journalists, says Justin Shilad
After nearly a decade behind bars, Saudi authorities have finally released Raif Badawi from prison. Badawi, a blogger who used his writings and online forums to advocate for secularism and liberal values, was arrested in June 2012 and sentenced a year later to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes. He endured 50 lashes as part of his sentence, but global pressure may have saved him from even more.
While Badawi was in prison, Saudi Arabia witnessed two seemingly contradictory trends. Under the de facto reign of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia has turned into one of the top jailers of journalists worldwide and an epicenter of surveillance and spyware technology. The crown prince himself has gained notoriety in 2018 for likely ordering the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post.
Yet at the same time, the crown prince escaped any direct penalty from the US government and the international community, and the world has accepted Saudi Arabia under Mohammed bin Salman as an increasingly important actor on the global stage.
Badawi reflected changing views on religion, liberalism
But Badawi's arrest and sentencing came years before bin Salman's ascent to power, and his writing is an example of how independent journalism continues in one of the world's most censored states.
Badawi started an online discussion forum in 2006 where Saudis could discuss politics and religion. By 2008, he had already been detained at least once, yet he continued to develop the forum until it became the Free Saudi Liberals network, with thousands of registered users. Over the next few years, he continued to help run the forum while publishing columns advocating secularism and liberalism in local and regional outlets.
Ensaf Haidar, Badawi's wife, has consistently called for her husband's release
Badawi's writing and work moderating the forums reflected Saudis' changing views on the role of religion and liberalism in Saudi society — a dynamic that Saudi authorities have alternately denied and attempted to take credit for.
A Saudi court responded to Badawi's writings by sentencing him to seven years in prison and 600 lashes — a sentence that was increased on appeal in May 2014 to 10 years in prison, 1,000 lashes, a fine of 1 million Saudi riyal ($267,000/€244,000) and a 10-year travel ban after his prison sentence. Saudi authorities publicly lashed Badawi 50 times in January 2015, but repeatedly postponed the remaining sessions, ostensibly out of concern for his health.
Saudi government sensitive to criticism
But the international outcry after the first round of lashes suggests Saudi authorities are indeed concerned about worldwide public opinion and their global standing. After Khashoggi's murder, the Saudi government responded with ferocity when Canada's Foreign Ministry criticized the arrest of Badawi's sister, Samar Badawi, in 2019.
If the Saudi government's expulsion of the Canadian ambassador in response was meant as a warning to other countries who would criticize the country's rights record, it should also indicate how sensitive they are to criticism.
Raif Badawi may be free, but Saudi authorities continue to impose a travel ban on him and others, subjecting him to another unbearable decade of separation from his family. Meanwhile, the Saudi government continues to enjoy the military support of the US and EU member states, even as other journalists languish in prison in deplorable circumstances. The international condemnation that followed the first round of Badawi's lashings has subsided, as Saudi authorities' violations against journalists multiplied.
Need for continued international pressure
The international community must keep the pressure on Saudi authorities to release all other detained journalists, stop imposing onerous restrictions on those who have been released from jail, end their regime of censorship and surveillance and meaningfully pursue justice for Khashoggi's murder. As horrifying as it was for Badawi to have to endure 50 lashes, there's reason to believe that international pressure kept him from a grimmer fate.
Badawi's release from prison should not signal a return to business as usual with the kingdom — instead, it should be a reminder of the stakes of silence, and the need for continued international pressure.
Over the past three years, the ongoing imprisonment of Saudi journalists and lack of accountability for Khashoggi's murder has drawn an uncomfortable silence from the international community. With Badawi out of jail, governments around the world should raise their voices once again on behalf of all other imprisoned journalists. If he wasn't afraid to speak out, then countries that claim to value free expression shouldn't be afraid to either.
Justin Shilad is a senior researcher on Middle East and North Africa at the Committee to Protect Journalists.
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