The sister of jailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi has reportedly been arrested for posting a photo of her former husband on Twitter and asking for his release from prison.
Raif Badawi's wife, Ensaf Haidar, tweeted that his sister, Samar Badawi, is believed to have been arrested Tuesday. After hours of questioning, she was moved to the Dharhan central prison, where her brother is being held, The Guardian reports. Samar Badawi's former husband, Waleed Abu al-Khair, is a human rights lawyer, and is serving a 15-year sentence, partly for defending Raif Badawi. For her work to promote women's equality in Saudi Arabia, Samar Badawi received the 2012 International Women of Courage award.
After being found guilty of insulting Islam and criticizing the regime, Raif Badawi was sentenced in 2014 to 10 years in jail and 1,000 lashes; last year, he received 50 lashes. His sentence has been condemned by leaders around the world, and his wife left Saudi Arabia for Canada, where she now lives with their three children and campaigns for his release. In a statement, Amnesty International called the detainment of Samar Badawi "the latest example of Saudi Arabia's utter contempt for its human rights obligations and provides further damning proof of the authorities' intent to suppress all signs of peaceful dissent."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
4 dead in shooting, arson attack in Michigan churchSpeed Read A gunman drove a pickup truck into a Mormon church where he shot at congregants and then set the building on fire
-
2 kids killed in shooting at Catholic school massSpeed Read 17 others were wounded during a morning mass at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis
-
Australian woman found guilty of mushroom murdersspeed read Erin Patterson murdered three of her ex-husband's relatives by serving them toxic death cap mushrooms
-
Combs convicted on 2 of 5 charges, denied bailSpeed Read Sean 'Diddy' Combs was acquitted of the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking
-
Sniper kills 2 Idaho firefighters in ambushSpeed Read A man started a wildfire, then fired a rifle at first responders when they arrived
-
Weinstein convicted of sex crime in retrialSpeed Read The New York jury delivered a mixed and partial verdict at the disgraced Hollywood producer's retrial
-
'King of the Hill' actor shot dead outside homespeed read Jonathan Joss was fatally shot by a neighbor who was 'yelling violent homophobic slurs,' says his husband
-
DOJ, Boulder police outline attacker's confessionspeed read Mohamed Sabry Soliman planned the attack for a year and 'wanted them all to die'
