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Human Rights Commissioner on the upholding of the sentence on blogger Raif Badawi
On 7 June 2015 Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court upheld the sentence on blogger Raif Badawi. Badawi had been sentenced to 1000 lashes, ten years’ imprisonment, a subsequent ten-year travel ban and a hefty fine. The Supreme Court’s decision means the judgement is final.
Christoph Strässer, Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid, issued the following statement:
I regret that the sentence has been upheld. All Raif Badawi did was exercise his right to freedom of expression. For this he is suffering draconian punishment. I hope that the lashes will remain permanently discontinued. They are a violation of human dignity and utterly unacceptable. In my opinion, the long prison term and subsequent travel ban are also completely out of all proportion.
The Federal Government will continue to stand up for Raif Badawi.
