In few countries is press freedom worse off than in Saudi Arabia. The blogger Badawi, who was sentenced to 1000 strokes of the cane and long imprisonment, became a symbol of this. His only hope is worldwide encouragement.
By Sabine Rossi, ARD Radio Studio Cairo
Every Thursday, fear rises in Ensaf Haidar more than on other days of the week, because Friday could be it again. Then her husband, Raif Badawi, could be publicly beaten again. A year ago, a court sentenced him to 1,000 strokes of the cane, ten years in prison and a heavy fine - for writing his opinion on the Internet for founding the blog "Saudi Liberals."
Badawi suffers, people applaud
In January, Badawi received the first 50 strokes. A blurred video is circulating on the Internet: Badawi stands upright in front of a mosque in the Saudi city of Jeddah. The crowd claps and cheers with every blow that hits him. Since then, the sentence has been suspended - for health reasons, according to official sources.
Saudi blogger Badawi.
Ensaf Haidar is the only one who has relatively regular contact with her husband in prison. "Raif doesn't talk about his health and daily life in prison," she says. "Maybe because he doesn't want me to know. I can hear in his voice that he is not well, that he is exhausted. He's suffering because he hasn't seen his children in so long. There's nothing to give him hope." Except the encouragement from all over the world.
"The public protects my husband"
Ensaf Haidar works for this and she tells her husband about it. Their phone calls often last only a few minutes, more is not allowed. Haidar seeks publicity: she gives interviews, participates in vigils, gives lectures. Only recently a book was published with texts that her husband had published on his now banned blog.
Ensaf Haidar is convinced that by protecting Raif Badawi, the public will increase pressure on the Saudi royal family. So far, the royal family, which is closely linked to the clergy in the country, has not relented. Anyone who, like Badawi in Saudi Arabia, calls for liberal or secular values and advocates that everyone should be able to follow his or her own faith is quickly regarded as an infidel or even a heretic.
His case causes worldwide outrage: Amnesty International members protest in front of the Saudi embassy in Vienna for Badawi's release.
Ensaf Haidar, who studied Islamic theology, is certain that her husband's texts do not insult Islam - even if he is accused of doing so. "Anyone who reads the texts carefully and understands them as Raif meant them will not be able to find anything wrong in them. His articles were not directed against a specific cause, not against religion, against the country or against a specific person."
Hardly any approval in Saudi Arabia
But the royal family and the clergy felt attacked. For Raif Badawi advocates a modern reading of the Koran. He opposes the strict separation of men and women in society and calls for the influence of religious representatives and their police to be pushed back.
In Saudi Arabia, he meets with little approval for these ideas - not even among his peers. It is estimated that around two-thirds of Saudi Arabia's population is under the age of 30. They use state-of-the-art technology and post their often conservative views on social media. On Twitter, they comment on every news and protest Ensaf Haidar publishes.
"Everything I write on Twitter evokes negative reactions," Haidar says. "People respond 'He deserved it' or 'He should have gotten more.' Who allowed him to write a blog like that in the first place?'"
But that does not intimidate Ensaf Haidar. After all, she says, her husband is worse off in prison. "It's worth it so that Raif can come to us, so that the waiting can end. Because the waiting is very hard."
Source: https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/tag-der-pressefreiheit-101.html