26 May 2015

Raif Badawi: Wife pleads for fresh EU help as Saudi blogger's health worsens

The wife of the jailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi has called on European governments to go beyond the public expressions of concern that have so far failed to secure his release, and deploy ministerial-level delegations to press directly for his freedom.

Speaking to The Independent in Brussels where she is lobbying for more action by the EU, Ensaf Haidar said their three young children asked her every day when their father was coming home, and she remained hopeful that the family would be reunited.

But more international pressure was needed to convince the Saudi royal family that his sentence of 1,000 lashes and 10 years in prison was simply unacceptable and must be overturned. [The Independent] Read more