Saudi dissident Raif Badawi has started a hunger strike as the conditions of his imprisonment have reportedly worsened.
Saudi authorities arrested Badawi on the charge of “insulting Islam” in 2012. Badawi had criticized the kingdom’s theocentric system and urged “freedom and respect” for differing ideas in his blog.
Three days have passed since my husband Raif Badawi began an open hunger strike to protest the ill-treatment and so far the prison administration has not responded to him but the prison director wants Raif to continue the strike !!! @pgd_KSA
Eventually, Badawi was sentenced to 10 years in prison, 1,000 lashes, and a fine. He received his first set of 50 lashes in a public whipping in 2015. Since the beginning of his imprisonment, he reportedly went on hunger strike on at least two occasions.
In 2015, Badawi received DW Freedom of Speech Award.
Badawi’s wife, Ensaf Haidar, sought refuge in Canada with their three children. She continues to advocate for her husband’s release.
Ensaf Haidar, wife of jailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, holds a picture of her husband in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on 16 December 2015.. EPA/PATRICK SEEGER
