Saudi blogger sentenced to ten years in jail, $266K fine and 1,000 lashes for insulting Islam

Raif Badawi, a Saudi blogger has been sentenced to prison for ten years plus 1,000 lashes as a punishment for allegedly insulting the religion of Islam on an online liberal forum he created.

The criminal court in Jeddah also ordered Badawi to pay one million Saudi riyals (about $266,000) as a fine. Badawi’s liberal forum was closed after his arrest in 2012.

He was previously sentenced to seven years in prison and 600 lashes in relation to the charges, but the verdict was overturned on appeal. Sabq Online Newspaper reported that Wednesday’s verdict was the result of that appeal.

Amnesty International described the verdict as “outrageous,” saying:

 

Badawi is “guilty of nothing more than daring to create a public forum for