Tomorrow marks eight weeks since the Saudi Arabian authorities publicly flogged the blogger and activist Raif Badawi, sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in prison for “insulting Islam” and founding an online forum for political debate.
After his first session of 50 lashes in front of a mosque in Jeddah on 9 January, a doctor advised prison authorities that his wounds had not healed sufficiently for him to undergo the second round of this brutal punishment. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST
By Noor Mir, Field Organizer for Amnesty International USA
This Valentine’s Day, survivors of torture and other ill-treatment, from Jeddah to Chicago, will not be celebrating.
You can make a difference right this minute. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST
The late Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud. ©BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty
By Sevag Kechichian, Researcher on Saudi Arabia at Amnesty International.
The death of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz has, once again, focused international attention to the oil-rich Middle Eastern country’s human rights record.
“What will be King Abdullah’s legacy?” everybody seems to be asking.
The answer is not simple. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST
Raif Badawi, founder of a website for political and social debate, has been held in a Saudi Arabian prison since 17 June 2012. ©Private
An eyewitness account of the flogging today of Raif Badawi an activist in Saudi Arabia sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for setting up a website for public debate. The witness has not been identified for security reasons.
“When the worshippers saw the police van outside the mosque, they knew someone would be flogged today. They gathered in a circle. Passers-by joined them and the crowd grew.
No one knew why the man brought forward was about to be punished. Is he a killer, they asked? A criminal? Does he not pray? SEE THE REST OF THIS POST
Dr Abdullah al-Hamid and Dr Moahmmad al-Qahtani are founding members of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA). All 11 founding members are currently either imprisoned or on trial facing imprisonment.
By Lara-Zuzan Golesorkhi, Amnesty International Saudi Arabia Country Specialist
It didn’t have to happen this way in Saudi Arabia. Earlier this decade, Saudi human rights activists saw promise for change, saw their efforts paying off.
Now they’re facing long prison sentences.
Eleven members of the prominent Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) are either imprisoned or on trial, and the remaining silenced, for their peaceful activism. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST
Raif Badawi, co-founder of the “Saudi Arabian Liberals” website, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, 1,000 lashes and a fine of 1 million Saudi riyals by Jeddah’s Criminal Court (Photo Credit: Private).
By Ensaf Haidar, Wife of Imprisoned Saudi Arabian Activist Raif Badawi
I still pursue that mirage…two years have passed and I am still faced with a scorching emptiness and a series of agonizing questions.
When will he be back, and in what condition? What will I put on, and how will I react? Should I hug him, kiss him, or should I cry?
President Obama waves as he boards Air Force One prior to his departure for Saudi Arabia to meet with King Abdullah (Photo Credit: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images).
Even by the standard of low expectations set for a trip described as fencing-mending, President Obama’s public silence on Saudi Arabian human rights spoke loudly today.
There was no open mention of the Saudi crackdown on peaceful political activists, a crackdown that brands anyone who speaks out a criminal and sends them to jail. There was no clear support for religious minority groups who are standing strong for their right to practice religion.
There was public silence on the rights of women, even as Saudi women themselves are taking to the roads on Saturday to defy the world’s only ban on women driving.
Today, Amnesty International released its annual report on the use of the death penalty worldwide. Although 2013 saw more executions than in previous years and several countries resuming executions, there was also progress towards abolition in all regions of the world. Below, see the top 10 things you need to know from our newest report:
President Obama with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia during meetings in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on June 29, 2010 (Photo Credit: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images).
On Friday, President Obama is expected to visit Saudi Arabia, a country whose government is highly repressive. But instead of raising human rights, Obama’s trip has been described by The New York Times as focused on “fence-mending.”
This is the wrong approach.
As we say in our Amnesty International letter to President Obama:
For too long, the U.S. has put geopolitics and access to energy over support for human rights in its relationship with Saudi Arabia. As an ally of the United States, Saudi Arabia has been spared the blunt criticisms that U.S. officials make of other governments that commit serious human rights violations.
Ahead of his visit to Saudi Arabia on Friday, Amnesty International is calling on President Obama to take a stand for human rights in the Gulf Kingdom (Photo Credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP/GettyImages).
This Friday, President Obama is going to Saudi Arabia. But despite the Saudi Arabian government’s terrible record on human rights, the White House hasn’t said that human rights will be on the agenda.
Over 50 Members of Congress beg to differ. A growing number of U.S. representatives have signed a bipartisan letter calling on President Obama to stand up for human rights when he meets with Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah.
Here are three ways you can take action to make sure President Obama makes human rights a priority when he visits Saudi Arabia: