Saudi Arabia: what hope for the release of Raif Badawi?
For having created in 2008 the discussion site Free Saudi Liberals advocating religious liberalization in the Saudi Kingdom, Raïf Badawi, 28 at the time, began a descent into hell.
RSF
Text by: Pascale Guéricolas
6 mins
For nine years, blogger Raïf Badawi has languished in a Saudi Arabian prison for calling for a slightly more liberal regime.
The coming to power of a new administration in Washington gives a glimmer of hope to those campaigning for its release.
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From our correspondent in Quebec,
The start of Ramadan, in less than three weeks, rekindles hopes that blogger Raif Badawi will be freed after nearly nine years in prison in Saudi Arabia.
People campaigning for his release hope Prince Mohamed Ben Salman will take the opportunity to pardon the blogger, who has become an important figure in the struggle for human rights.
"
It seems in MBS's own best interests to release him,"
said Irwin Cotler, former Minister of Justice of Canada.
Not just because it's the right thing to do, but also because it will bring the Saudi leader closer to US President Joe Biden.
"
Sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes, Raïf Badawai was found guilty of “
apostasy and insulting Islam
”.
On his site Free Saudi Liberals, created in 2008, he advocated a certain modernization of the Saudi kingdom, in particular the freedom to choose one's religion and the establishment of more egalitarian relationships between men and women.
"
Today, in Saudi Arabia, some of these themes appear more topical
," notes former minister Cotler, who chairs the Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights in Montreal.
Raïf Badawi is imprisoned […] for having said what MBS has finally been advocating for four years
: a more open Saudi Arabia and a more moderate Islam.
"
According to Irwin Colter, relations between the Kingdom and the United States have been changing since the coming to power of a new administration in Washington.
Indeed, President Joe Biden places more importance on the defense of human rights.
This could complicate Saudi Arabia's direct access to U.S. administration officials.
The former justice minister cites the declassification at the end of February of a CIA report linking Mohamed Ben Salman to the murder in Turkey of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
Canadian citizenship
Another important point: on March 8, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken paid tribute to Samar Badawi, blogger Badawi's sister, also imprisoned in Saudi Arabia.
"
We join other nations in calling for her release,
" Secretary Blinken said at the presentation of the Courage Prize, awarded annually on International Women's Day.
Note that
Samar Badawi
had obtained this distinction in 2012, from the hands of Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama.
In Canada, parliamentarians unanimously demanded on January 27 that Raïf Badawi obtain the citizenship of this country, where his family took refuge in December 2013. The gesture is important, but it remains largely symbolic.
For the moment, the Canadian Minister of Immigration has not acted on the motion, tabled at the initiative of the Bloc Québécois, an opposition party.
In addition, even if the blogger were to become Canadian, it would probably not change his fate, since Saudi Arabia does not recognize the dual citizenship of its nationals.
Still, the support of elected officials brings some hope to
Ensaf Haidar
, the blogger's wife, who continues to loudly demand the release of her companion.
For eight years, the tireless activist has organized a vigil every Friday.
It takes place in front of the town hall of Sherbrooke, his adopted city, located 150 kilometers south of Montreal.
More recently, she decided to take her fight to the political arena, announcing her intention to become a candidate in the next Canadian federal election
.
Ensaf Haiddar is campaigning today for the Bloc Québécois, a party that seeks Quebec independence.
A commitment that she links to the support she has received from Quebecers since her arrival.
The defense of secularism also motivates it to get involved.
“
Raïf is currently in prison for having defended secularism
,” she recalls.
You really have to separate the veil from religion.
In a darker voice, the mother-of-three recounts that her husband's brief weekly phone calls currently seem tinged with sadness.
His state of health worries him too, as hunger strikes have affected his condition, especially since he has difficulty receiving his medication.
Second investigation opened
To top it off, another investigation was reportedly launched by Saudi Arabia against Raif Badawi, and possibly even his wife, for damaging the country's reputation.
Charges that could prevent the blogger's release, once his 10-year prison sentence is over.
"
It is not Raif Badawi who is sullying Saudi Arabia, it is the regime which is sullying itself by leaving human rights defenders in prison,
" insists former minister Irwin Cotler.
He cites in particular the case of Samar Badawi, imprisoned with other women for having driven a car, whereas today female drivers are authorized in Saudi Arabia.
Raïf 's case also continues to mobilize the French - speaking section of
Amnesty International Canada
.
Already, its members are preparing for an event in June to denounce the blogger's 9-year imprisonment.
"
Quebecers have adopted him as one of their own
," remarks its director France Isabelle Langlois.
We regularly call on the Canadian government to be firmer in the face of Saudi Arabia, and to stop its arms sales to that country.
"Irwin Cotler, who has defended freedom of expression for almost half a century, still hopes to meet the Saudi writer in person soon:"
The political prisoners, whom I represented as a lawyer, have been freed often, because they have a wife who militates for them.
They put a human face on the cause.
Spouses, like Ensaf Haidar, make all the difference.
"
►
To read also:
Raif Badawi: the story of the Saudi prisoner of conscience in the spotlight
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