Islam and Blasphemy
Blogging can be a dangerous business in some parts of the world, in countries like Saudi Arabia for example, where religious blasphemy laws are routinely used to attack people who are critical of the state.
The BBC reports here on the case of Raif Badawi, a young man who was charged with the crime of 'apostasy' (a old favourite of the religious police) because Raif pressed the "Like" button on a Facebook page for Arab Christians.
Raif appears to have been in jail since May of last year and earlier this week was given the first 50 of his punishment for insulting Islam - 1,000 lashes which means that he will be publicly flogged for the next 19 weeks, 50 lashes at a time.
Now I know that Islam is supposed to be a religion of peace and tolerance, but if you ask me the authorities over in Saudi Arabia are acting like bullies and sadists.
Saudi blogger Badawi 'flogged for Islam insult'
Mr Badawi will reportedly be flogged weekly until he has received 1,000 lashes
A Saudi Arabian blogger has been publicly flogged after being convicted of cybercrime and insulting Islam, reports say.
Raif Badawi, who was sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in jail, was flogged 50 times. The flogging will be carried out weekly, campaigners say.
Mr Badawi, the co-founder of a now banned website called the Liberal Saudi Network, was arrested in 2012.
Rights groups condemned his conviction and the US appealed for clemency.
On Thursday state department spokeswoman Jen Psaki urged the Saudi authorities to "cancel this brutal punishment" and to review his case.
In addition to his sentence, Mr Badawi was ordered to pay a fine of 1 million riyals ($266,000; £175,000).
In 2013 he was cleared of apostasy, which could have carried a death sentence.
Last year Mr Badawi's lawyer was sentenced to 15 years in prison after being found guilty of a range of offences in an anti-terrorism court, the Associated Press news agency reported.
'Act of cruelty'
The flogging took place outside a mosque in the Red Sea city of Jeddah after Friday prayers, witnesses said.
AFP news agency, quoting people at the scene, said Mr Badawi arrived at the mosque in a police car and had the charges read out to him in front of a crowd.
He was then made to stand with his back to onlookers and whipped, though he remained silent, the witnesses said.
The sentence was widely condemned by human rights groups.
"The flogging of Raif Badawi is a vicious act of cruelty which is prohibited under international law," said Said Boumedouha of Amnesty International.
"By ignoring international calls to cancel the flogging Saudi Arabia's authorities have demonstrated an abhorrent disregard for the most basic human rights principles."
Saudi Arabia enforces a strict version of Islamic law and does not tolerate political dissent. It has some of the highest social media usage rates in the region, and has cracked down on domestic online criticism, imposing harsh punishments.
Raif Badawi: Court refuses to charge Saudi blogger
By Sebastian Usher - Arab affairs editor, BBC News
A Saudi Arabian blogger has been publicly flogged after being convicted of cybercrime and insulting Islam, reports say.
Raif Badawi, who was sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in jail, was flogged 50 times. The flogging will be carried out weekly, campaigners say.
Mr Badawi, the co-founder of a now banned website called the Liberal Saudi Network, was arrested in 2012.
Rights groups condemned his conviction and the US appealed for clemency.
On Thursday state department spokeswoman Jen Psaki urged the Saudi authorities to "cancel this brutal punishment" and to review his case.
In addition to his sentence, Mr Badawi was ordered to pay a fine of 1 million riyals ($266,000; £175,000).
In 2013 he was cleared of apostasy, which could have carried a death sentence.
Last year Mr Badawi's lawyer was sentenced to 15 years in prison after being found guilty of a range of offences in an anti-terrorism court, the Associated Press news agency reported.
'Act of cruelty'
The flogging took place outside a mosque in the Red Sea city of Jeddah after Friday prayers, witnesses said.
AFP news agency, quoting people at the scene, said Mr Badawi arrived at the mosque in a police car and had the charges read out to him in front of a crowd.
He was then made to stand with his back to onlookers and whipped, though he remained silent, the witnesses said.
The sentence was widely condemned by human rights groups.
"The flogging of Raif Badawi is a vicious act of cruelty which is prohibited under international law," said Said Boumedouha of Amnesty International.
"By ignoring international calls to cancel the flogging Saudi Arabia's authorities have demonstrated an abhorrent disregard for the most basic human rights principles."
Saudi Arabia enforces a strict version of Islamic law and does not tolerate political dissent. It has some of the highest social media usage rates in the region, and has cracked down on domestic online criticism, imposing harsh punishments.
Raif Badawi: Court refuses to charge Saudi blogger
By Sebastian Usher - Arab affairs editor, BBC News
It is unclear what Mr Badawi's fate will be now the court has refused to charge him
A court in Saudi Arabia has found that a liberal blogger accused of apostasy has no case to answer.
The court had the power to sentence Raif Badawi to death had it found him guilty.
But it refused to charge him, referring his case back to a lower court.
Mr Badawi, the young co-founder of a website called the Liberal Saudi Network, was arrested last year and accused of insulting Islam and showing disobedience.
His lawyer, Waleed Abu Alkhair, says he became a target for Saudi authorities after declaring 7 May last year a "day for Saudi liberals" - in order to have more open discussion about social and religious issues.
His wife, Ensaf, has stood by him but told the BBC of the personal cost of the case, with friends and family distancing themselves or even turning against them.
She now lives in Lebanon, but says she has received threatening messages.
"Two or three days after Raif's hearing, I started to receive phone calls from unknown people, saying 'we are going to kill your husband'. But I didn't respond to them."
This was after a judge in a lower court recommended that Mr Badawi should be tried for apostasy - for which he could have faced the death penalty - if the higher court had backed the charges.
The evidence against him included the fact that he pressed the "Like" button on a Facebook page for Arab Christians.
It is unclear what happens next, but sources close to Mr Badawi say he believes he will now be shuttled between various courts to keep him in prison without attracting the further international criticism that a guilty verdict might bring.
Mr Badawi's case is not unique. It highlights the constant push and pull between reformist and deeply conservative forces in Saudi Arabia.
A prominent writer, Turki al-Hamad, is currently under a form of house arrest for recent tweets criticising Islamists - he, too, could be charged with apostasy.
Another writer and blogger, Hamza Kashgari, was extradited from Malaysia to Saudi Arabia almost a year ago on similar charges. He has repented in court, but remains in jail.
A court in Saudi Arabia has found that a liberal blogger accused of apostasy has no case to answer.
The court had the power to sentence Raif Badawi to death had it found him guilty.
But it refused to charge him, referring his case back to a lower court.
Mr Badawi, the young co-founder of a website called the Liberal Saudi Network, was arrested last year and accused of insulting Islam and showing disobedience.
His lawyer, Waleed Abu Alkhair, says he became a target for Saudi authorities after declaring 7 May last year a "day for Saudi liberals" - in order to have more open discussion about social and religious issues.
His wife, Ensaf, has stood by him but told the BBC of the personal cost of the case, with friends and family distancing themselves or even turning against them.
She now lives in Lebanon, but says she has received threatening messages.
"Two or three days after Raif's hearing, I started to receive phone calls from unknown people, saying 'we are going to kill your husband'. But I didn't respond to them."
This was after a judge in a lower court recommended that Mr Badawi should be tried for apostasy - for which he could have faced the death penalty - if the higher court had backed the charges.
The evidence against him included the fact that he pressed the "Like" button on a Facebook page for Arab Christians.
It is unclear what happens next, but sources close to Mr Badawi say he believes he will now be shuttled between various courts to keep him in prison without attracting the further international criticism that a guilty verdict might bring.
Mr Badawi's case is not unique. It highlights the constant push and pull between reformist and deeply conservative forces in Saudi Arabia.
A prominent writer, Turki al-Hamad, is currently under a form of house arrest for recent tweets criticising Islamists - he, too, could be charged with apostasy.
Another writer and blogger, Hamza Kashgari, was extradited from Malaysia to Saudi Arabia almost a year ago on similar charges. He has repented in court, but remains in jail.
