Badawi was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for his crime of 'insulting Islam'
A medical expert from the charity Freedom from Torture has warned that further floggings of Saudi Arabian blogger Raif Badawi, who was arrested in 2012 for 'insulting Islam', could cause debilitating long-term physical and mental damage if his full sentence of 1,000 lashes is carried out, a report commissioned by Amnesty International said.
Badawi was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for his crime. His last two scheduled floggings were postponed on medical grounds.
“Raif Badawi is a prisoner of conscience, whose only ‘crime’ was to set up a website for public discussion, and the Saudi authorities must end their vicious campaign against him,”said Philip Luther, Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.
“Flogging Raif Badawi was an unspeakably cruel and shocking act by the Saudi Arabian authorities. The practice violates the prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment under international law and should not be carried out under any circumstances; to do so repeatedly is likely to heighten the torment and suffering, both mental and physical, caused to the victim,” added Luther in the press release.
Dr Juliet Cohen, Head of Doctors at Freedom from Torture said, “When the cane strikes, the blood is forced from the tissues beneath... Damage to the small blood vessels and individual cells causes leakage of blood and tissue fluid into the skin and underlying tissue, increasing the tension in these areas”. Çohen also stated that the psychological impact due to the flogging will be just as damaging.
In the past few weeks Amnesty International has led rallies all over the world weeks in support of Raif Badawi and has called on the authorities of Saudi Saudi Arabia to release him.
Meanwhile, Badawi may face a round of flogging this Friday.
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