Wikström (FP) vädjar till kung Salman: Benåda bloggaren Raif Badawi
Pressmeddelande från Folkpartiet Liberalerna i Europaparlamentet
I samband med att högsta domstolen i Saudiarabien den 7 juni beslutade sig för att fastställa domen om 1 000 piskrapp och tio års fängelse mot bloggaren och människorättsaktivisten Raif Badawi så vädjar Europaparlamentariker Cecilia Wikström (FP) i ett brev till kung Salman att Badawi ska benådas.
- 1000 piskrapp är de facto med största sannolikhet lika med ett dödsstraff. Raif Badawis enda brott har varit att fredligt utöva sin rätt till yttrandefrihet och jag vädjar till hans majestät Salman om att respektera de mänskliga rättigheterna och visa medkänsla för Badawi. Efter högsta domstolens domslut är en officiell benådning det enda sättet att rädda honom, säger Wikström.
116 Europaparlamentariker har skrivit under brevet som sent i gårkväll skickades till kung Salman.
För mer information, kontakta:
Linda Aziz, pressekreterare hos Cecilia Wikström
+32 486 94 76 82
Brevet:
Brussels, 11 June 2015
Your Majesty,
We are writing as Members of the European Parliament, as we are very worried about the situation of Saudi citizen Raif Badawi. On Sunday 7 June, the Supreme Court in Riyadh upheld the cruel sentence of 10 years in jail and 1.000 lashes, which almost certainly constitutes a de facto death sentence. After receiving the first 50 lashes when his sentence was passed in January, prison doctors deemed him too injured to be flogged again until his appeal was heard.
Mr Badawi’s only crime has been to peacefully exercise his right to freedom of speech. We would like to remind you that Mr Badawi’s wife and children currently reside in Canada and should be reunited with their husband and father. The government of Canada would be willing to grant residency to Mr Badawi, as it has done for his family.
We appeal to Your Majesty to show compassion for Raif Badawi. Now that the final sentence has been cast by the Supreme Court, an official pardon is the only way to save him. Furthermore, we appeal to Your Majesty to show compassion for Mr Badawi’s lawyer, Waleed Abu Alkhair, who has been sentenced to 15 years in prison, and for all prisoners of conscience in Saudi Arabia.
We appreciate your kind attention for our concerns.
Sincerely,
Cecilia Wikström m. fl.
