… Read the restToday The Green Party Hold Reading for #RaifBadawi Book in Austrian Parliament
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Posts Tagged ‘ Raif Badawi ’
Reading Raif in Vienna
Apr 30th, 2015 5:08 pm | By Ophelia BensonSlavery has no place full stop
Apr 17th, 2015 11:28 am | By Ophelia BensonAmnesty International shares a letter from Samar Badawi to her husband Waleed Abu al-Khair. Samar Badawi is Raif Badawi’s sister.
He taught me that a person is born free and that it is up to him or her to live in freedom or die trying to achieve it. Slavery has no place in his life except when it comes to serving God, the one and only. Now, he lives in freedom even though he is behind bars with his colleagues Abdullah al-Hamid, Mohammad al-Qahtani and many other activists imprisoned purely for exercising their right to freedom of expression.
That’s a very odd exception, I have to say. Slavery is bad except when it’s slavery to god? I couldn’t disagree … Read the rest
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Omøgade 8, Østerbro i København
Apr 17th, 2015 10:26 am | By Ophelia BensonIt’s Friday, so.
Raif was not flogged today.
Via Ensaf Haidar via Dansk PEN – protests in Copenhagen over the past many weeks:
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Do not let silence become your legacy
Apr 10th, 2015 9:00 am | By Ophelia BensonAnother petition you can sign – this one Amnesty International to Obama, urging him to stand up for Raif.
… Read the restSaudi Arabian blogger Raif Badawi was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for his blog Saudi Arabian Liberals. More than one million actions have been taken on his behalf – yet some key world leaders have remained silent. Now, Raif’s wife Ensaf Haidar has asked President Obama to add his voice to the call to Free Raif. In a recent Washington Post Op-Ed, Ensaf wrote:
“More than a million people around the world have demanded that the Saudi Arabian authorities release my husband, including more than 60 members of Congress…I beg members of the administration to follow
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The green door
Apr 9th, 2015 5:27 pm | By Ophelia BensonVia Ensaf Haidar, Amnesty International Ireland today:
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La liberté pas le fouet
Apr 9th, 2015 10:50 am | By Ophelia BensonAmnesty International Belgique today:
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Do the right thing
Apr 3rd, 2015 12:54 pm | By Ophelia BensonEnsaf Haidar asks Obama and Kerry to do what 60 members of Congress have done, and demand the immediate release of Raif Badawi.
… Read the restWhen I am allowed to speak with Raif, I brief him about all that is being done on his behalf. Because of a global outcry by citizens and governments of the world, Raif has not been flogged for 11 consecutive weeks. But I know that as soon as the media spotlight fades and pressure on the repressive Saudi monarchy eases, Saudi Arabia may seek to do what it pleases with my husband. It is critical that the pressure not abate, not even for an instant.
More than a million people around the world have demanded that the
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C’est normal
Apr 3rd, 2015 11:18 am | By Ophelia BensonSaudi Arabia has tried to order Quebec to back off in its criticism of Saudi’s appalling human rights record. Quebec has said Nope.
… Read the restQuebec’s premier is not backing down in his opposition to the imprisonment and torture of blogger Raif Badawi, despite the Saudi ambassador’s written caution to Quebec politicians to mind their own business.
“We have made our opinion known. It’s normal that we did so,” Philippe Couillard told reporters as he made his way to a cabinet meeting in Quebec City Wednesday.
Naif Bin Bandir Al-Sudairy, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Canada, sent a letter to Quebec’s National Assembly in March telling them not to meddle in the case of the jailed
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Surrounded by a cheering crowd
Mar 27th, 2015 3:40 pm | By Ophelia BensonDer Spiegel is running a letter from Raif Badawi tomorrow, the Guardian reports today.
Jailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi has written in his first letter from prison of how he “miraculously survived 50 lashes”, part of his sentence for “insulting Islam”, a German news weekly has said.
Badawi, 31, recalled that he was “surrounded by a cheering crowd who cried incessantly ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is greatest)” during the whipping, according to a pre-released article from Der Spiegel’s edition to be published on Saturday.
That’s so disgusting. The cheering is disgusting, the praise of the celestial bully is disgusting, the apparent belief that the celestial bully fully approves of the sadistic unmerited punishment is disgusting. It’s all disgusting.
It’s foul. … Read the rest
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Dancing for Raif
Mar 27th, 2015 12:28 pm | By Ophelia Benson
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3KzyCZyYvI… Read the rest
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No flogging for Raif today
Mar 27th, 2015 11:52 am | By Ophelia BensonAmnesty International Deutschland:
From Eduard Nazarski, director of Amnesty International in the Netherlands:
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Allons enfants
Mar 26th, 2015 10:14 am | By Ophelia BensonWeston High School in Montreal has its own branch of Amnesty International. It posted some photos a couple of days ago.
Kids today, eh?… Read the rest
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Your complete opposition to the human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia
Mar 21st, 2015 10:28 am | By Ophelia BensonHere’s another thing we can sign – a call to political action to Free Raif and Waleed.
… Read the restSo far 12 MPs, 9 MSPs, and 4 members of the House of Lords have signed. Scores of prominent human rights activists, writers, lawyers and journalists have also signed as well as hundreds of others (see below). Please continue to add your name to this statement. Further action will be necessary.
Raif’s wife Ensaf Haidar has just written to us about this letter.
“I am very grateful for your action in support of my husband’s freedom– please help me get my husband back. His children need him”Saudi blogger Raif Badawi is currently imprisoned in a Saudi Arabian jail having received the
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Bumped up again
Mar 20th, 2015 10:12 am | By Ophelia BensonThere’s a report in Stern, in German, that Raif Badawi’s case has been sent by the Jeddah Criminal Court to the High Court. Elham Manea took it seriously enough to share with Ensaf Haidar, and Ensaf shared it with everyone.
That could be either good or bad; it’s unknown which.
But don’t worry – the OIC just told us that
Islam, which Saudi Arabia – a founding member of the OIC – is governed by, is centered on the values of justice, compassion, equality, tolerance and the notion of human vicegerency.
So obviously Saudi Arabia isn’t going to behead Raif for expressing an opinion about religion that the Saudi rulers don’t share. That wouldn’t be just or compassionate or … Read the rest
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Stop the lashes
Mar 19th, 2015 12:52 pm | By Ophelia BensonVia Elham Manea – In front of Saudi Ambassy in Vienna three hours ago –
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Bonnes nouvelles
Mar 12th, 2015 4:46 pm | By Ophelia BensonSeen on Ensaf Haidar’s Facebook wall –
Avocats sans frontière viendra en aide à Ensaf Haidar dans son combat pour libérer son mari. #FreeRaif
Lawyers Without Borders will help Ensaf Haidar in her fight to free her husband.
Avocats sans frontières Canada
Avocats sans frontières Canada… Read the rest
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Saudi Arabia is surprised and wounded
Mar 8th, 2015 11:50 am | By Ophelia BensonThe Sydney Morning Herald also reports on Saudi Arabia’s shock and sorrow at being rebuked for torturing its citizens over their expressed opinions.
… Read the restSaudi Arabia defended its human rights record in its first public reaction to international criticism over last year’s sentencing of liberal Saudi blogger Raif Badawi to 1000 lashes and 10 years in jail for “insulting Islam”.
The first 50 of Mr Badawi’s lashes were carried out in January, prompting strong criticism of the kingdom’s rights record from Western countries, including its laws on political and religious expression and the status of Saudi women.
“Saudi Arabia expresses its intense surprise and dismay at what is being reported by some media about the case of citizen Raif Badawi and
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Saudi Arabia has expressed “surprise and dismay”
Mar 8th, 2015 11:08 am | By Ophelia BensonFucking hell. The Saudis are digging in.
Saudi Arabia has expressed “surprise and dismay” at international media reports criticising the flogging of a Saudi blogger for insulting Islam.
In its first official statement on the case the foreign ministry said it rejected any interference in its internal affairs.
…
The foreign ministry said it could not accept any impingement on the country’s sovereignty, or on the impartiality of its judiciary system.
“The kingdom unequivocally rejects any aggression under the pretext of human rights,” it added.
It’s not a pretext, you callous piece of shit.
… Read the restGermany’s economic affairs minister and vice-chancellor, Sigmar Gabriel, currently on a visit to Saudi Arabia, was urged by MPs and human rights organisations to take
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From #FreeRaif today
Mar 6th, 2015 11:16 am | By Ophelia BensonFor 8 weeks we have stood in the cold and the snow outside the
#Saudi Embassy to demand they#FreeRaif@raif_badawi
Now outside of Saudi embassy in Rome for
#FreeRaif by Amnesty
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The King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue
Mar 3rd, 2015 11:47 am | By Ophelia BensonAustria has been considering closing down an “interfaith” dialogue center it has thanks to the backing of none other than those ardent fans of pluralism, Saudi Arabia.
… Read the restThe Austrian government has threatened to close a controversial Saudi-sponsored religious dialogue center because of the latter’s failure to condemn the flogging of a Saudi human rights activist and blogger.
Saudi Arabia has responded to the threat by issuing a counter-threat to move the permanent headquarters of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries [OPEC] out of the Austrian capital of Vienna.
The dust-up began in mid-January, when Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann expressed public outrage over the refusal of the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue [KAICIID] to
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