A court in Saudi Arabia today sentenced Raif Badawi, founder of the Free Saudi Liberals website, to seven years in prison and 600 lashes for violating the country’s Anti-Cyber Crime Law. He was accused of insulting Islam through his website and insulting Islam and religious authorities during TV interviews. The court added an additional three months for “filial disobedience.”
Badawi had created his website to foster debate about religion in Saudi Arabia. The authorities clearly can’t handle a platform for an open and peaceful discussion about such matters, preferring to criminalize free speech instead.
