Saudi blogger sentenced to 1,000 lashes was released 10 years later
The wife of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, who has been in prison for 10 years, has confirmed the release of her husband, who was sentenced to a thousand lashes for allegedly "insulting Islam" online.
His wife, Insaf Haider, based in Canada, told AFP that Raif Badawi had called her. Badawi's wife Insaf Haider fled to Canada with her three children in 2012 after an alleged attack on her husband.
Raif Badawi is believed to be the founder of the Free Saudi Liberals website, and was fined 175,000 pounds in 2012 for allegedly insulting Islam.
Badawi was flogged 50 times outside a mosque in Jeddah in early 2016, but the flogging was later stopped. Because it was met with protests from human rights organizations around the world.
However, no statement was issued by Saudi officials on the release of Raif Badawi.
Badawi's son Tird wrote in a tweet: "My father is free."
Badawi's sentence expired on March 1, but he is still under travel ban for another 10 years. what he will do after leaving the post, It is unknown at this time.
Reporters Without Borders, an NGO, says it will make sure that Bedouins can visit their families in Canada despite restrictions.
Badawi, now 38, founded the Liberal Saudi Network in 2008, which encourages dialogue on religious and political issues.
Badawi was arrested in Jeddah in 2012 on charges of disobeying and insulting Islam through "electronic channels".
Earlier this year, a judge recommended that action be taken against him for his alleged apostasy, which carries the death penalty.
However, the prosecution did not take it further and on the initial charges, he was again sentenced in 2013 to seven years imprisonment and 600 lashes by the criminal court.
In 2014, the sentence was upheld and the sentence was increased from seven to 10 years and the sentence of 600 lashes was increased to one thousand.
The court also ordered him to pay a fine of 1 million Saudi riyals, and even after his release, he was banned from going abroad for 10 years and doing any work in the media.
His wife, who has been campaigning for his release since his imprisonment, wrote the same sentence in French, English and Arabic in a Twitter post: "After ten years in prison, Raif is free."
Although Saudi Arabia has seen some cultural and economic upheaval under the new Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, it is still not as vocal as it was ten years ago.