Badawi, a father of three, was charged for "insulting Islam" when he set up a public website for open debate and discussion.
An eye witness described the scene thusly;
“Raif was escorted from a bus and placed in the middle of the crowd, guarded by eight or nine officers. He was handcuffed and shackled but his face was not covered — everyone could see his face. A security officer approached him from behind with a huge cane and started beating him. Raif raised his head towards the sky, closing his eyes and arching his back. He was silent, but you could tell from his face and his body that he was in real pain.”
As the man was brutally lashed, the crowd surrounding him repetitively shouted "Allah-hu Akbar" repetitively. His wife had this to say;
“Raif told me he is in a lot of pain after his flogging, his health is poor and I'm certain he will not be able to cope with another round of lashes.”Following his arrest, his wife and children fled for Canada.
Although this kind of punishment should not be surprising from the country of Saudi Arabia, there is no doubt that it shocks the world every time it witnesses such a putrid crime against humanity. The quote that repetitively comes to mind for me is that of writer George R.R. Martin in the shape of his character Tyrion Lannister;
"When you tear out a man's tongue, you are not proving him a liar. You're only telling the world you fear what he may say."I wish there was more to be said on behalf of Raif Badawi, except that he is simply one more victim in a long war against the freedom of speech and the freedom of press. He deserves the utmost support along with any help we can give him. With that said there is a petition to free him, although I do not know how efficient it could be, I will link it here regardless.
That's all I have to say today, but I'll be back Monday.
"We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope." -Martin Luther King Jr.
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