Saudi Arabia Tries to Block Criticisms of Human Rights Record at UN Meeting

NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) are allowed to make comments and ask questions at certain times during UN meetings. Recently, the Center for Inquiry criticized Saudi Arabia for sentencing Raif Badawi to ten years in prison and 1000 lashes for promoting free speech. The Saudi representative interrupted three times. The real shocker, however, came when the United States, France, Ireland, and Canada defended the Center for Inquiry's right to raise the human rights issue against Saudi Arabia. (Note: the translator is overly generous. The Saudi representative actually demanded that the Council President "shut her up.")

Saudi Blogger Raif Badawi Sentenced to Death for Apostasy

Saudi blogger Raif Badawi

Raif Badawi is a Saudi blogger, who created the website "Free Saudi Liberals" to encourage open discussion in the Arab world. He was arrested and charged with insulting Islam and apostasy.

In July, Raif was sentenced to seven years in prison and 600 lashes for creating a website deemed offensive to Islam. The apostasy charge, however, had to be handled by a higher court. CNN is reporting that Raif was found guilty by the higher court and has been sentenced to death.

Once again, we see the consequences of pretending that Islam doesn't teach what it obviously teaches. When Rifqa Bary was on trial, politicians, the media, and Muslim organizations assured us that Islam doesn't promote the death penalty for apostasy (in spite of Muhammad's clear commands to kill anyone who leaves Islam). How many bloggers must die before we face the truth?

(CNN) — Raif Badawi, a blogger in Saudi Arabia who has been imprisoned for violating the nation's anti-cybercrime law, has been given the death penalty for apostasy by a higher court, his wife told CNN on Wednesday.

Badawi founded the Free Saudi Liberals website and was originally given a seven-year sentence in July. A Jeddah criminal court found Badawi, who has been in prison since June 2012, guilty of insulting Islam through his website and in television comments.

A district court found him guilty of apostasy, his wife said.

"It is an emotion I cannot describe. I never imagined this would happen," she said. "I thought maybe they would reduce the sentence but this is unimaginable. The whole thing is about a website." (Source)

***UPDATE***

CNN posted a correction to their story this morning. Badawi's wife clarified that he has been recommended for trial for apostasy, which carries the death penalty.

(CNN) — A judge in Saudi Arabia has recommended that imprisoned blogger Raif Badawi go before a high court on a charge of apostasy, which would carry the death penalty upon conviction, according to Badawi's wife.

Ensaf Haidar initially told CNN on Wednesday that her husband had been sentenced to death. She later clarified to CNN that a judge has recommended he be tried for denouncing Islam, or apostasy. Apostasy carries the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, according to Amnesty International.

For a discussion of apostasy in Islam, see this video: