The National Union of Journalists and Amnesty International held a protest outside the Saudi Embassy in Dublin on Thursday, 22nd January, to call for the release of blogger Raif Badawi. The founder of the 'Free Saudi Liberals' website was arrested in 2012 for offences which included insulting Islam, cyber crime and disobeying his father – a crime in Saudi Arabia. He was sentenced last year to ten years in prison and 1,000 lashes. Badawi received 50 lashes two weeks ago in public but further punishment has been postponed on medical grounds. Last year Saudi Arabia beheaded 83 people. Drug dealing and witchcraft are among the crimes which have resulted in people being publically executed in Saudi Arabia in recent years.
Protest over treatment of Saudi blogger
