Freedom of speech in Saudi Arabia

[Vivi_music]

As the world leaders are paying their respect for the late King Abdallah of Saudi Arabia, I think it is important to talk about the other side of the medal. As much as King Abdallah was considered a reformist, the law of that country is twisted and repressive. Also, the concept of freedom of speech has been discussed a lot since the Charlie Hebdo attacks, and this is a great example of how freedom of speech is still not a given in 2015.

Right now, there is a blogger called Raif Badawi, imprisoned for his opinions. I'm talking about it so that M. Badawi can be free and see his family again one day. He was sentenced for 10 years in jail and 1000 lashes because he wrote a blog inviting people to have a debate on social, religious and political issues. M. Badawi never insulted the muslim faith. He identifies himself as a believer who wants to have a discussion about how religion is practiced today in Saudi Arabia. He has already received 50 lashes on January 9th 2015. The rest of the full sentence of 1000 lashes will be carried out, apparently every week on Fridays, for a period of 19 weeks. As of now, his last two flogging have been cancelled and it is not out of kindness or mercy. It's due to medical reasons. Mr. Badawi is diabetic and his wounds have not healed well in the past few days.

Mr. Badawi is married and has 3 children. In fear of being arrested themselves, his wife and children found refuge in Canada, where they now live. If you want to sign the petition to help for his release, check it out here: https://campaigns.amnesty.org/actions/w ... aif-badawi (not breaking the link because Amnesty International won't mind it). I signed it, please join me. :)

I understand the King alone can't change a whole country. There are religious leaders to consider, other aristocratic families. I simply think my country (Canada) is pretty hypocritical. Most countries like Canada, France or the UK have signed international treaties banning torture. Yet they don't do anything. For me, flogging sounds pretty much like torture.

[2xx1xy1JD]

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has denounced the flogging as a violation of human dignity and freedom of expression.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/01/14 ... 73830.html

The question is whether he'll follow this up with more pressure and measures.

The overall relationship between the Saudi regime and western countries is a huge issue. The ruling family makes a deal with the devil with Wahabbi clerics to stay in power, and then western powers make a deal with the devil with the Saudi regime to have access to oil and influence in the region.

[RosyDaisy]

Short answer. Nobody is going to do a damn thing.

[BrownieMomma]

Reading things like this makes me grateful to be an American. I do mean truly grateful.

[Vivi_music]

Short answer. Nobody is going to do a damn thing.

Oh right, so we should just ignore it then? :confusion-scratchheadyellow:

If us mere citizens just didn't do nothing, not much would happen in this world. We are not diplomats, but I guess signing a petition is too hard.

[Mama Mia]

I couldn't get the petition to open

[Vivi_music]

Hmm, I tried the link just now and it was fine for me. But here it is, I broke it, maybe it will help. :) campaigns.amnesty.org/actions/write-for-rights-raif-badawi

[2xx1xy1JD]

It's not just an "over there" issue at all.

There are close ties, for example, between the US government and the Saudi regime. There are economic ties as well. In short, we in the west are enabling the Saudi regime.

It's also not just about bizarrely cruel punishments. We should want to encourage about reasonable, moderate Muslim who is willing to question dangerous stuff and speak out against terrorism. Keep in mind - 15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers came from Saudi Arabia. We needs guys like him in Saudi Arabia, ready to call out places that are spreading ideas of violent jihad and creating future terrorists. If people like him are forced into silence, we've got a major problem.

Petitions are a start, but people should also be contacting elected officials to find out what they are doing to help. That's where the power is.

[Cleopatra7]

One of the problems with the West's relationship with the House of Saud is that the Saudis claim to be a moderating force against jihadists while simultaneously arming their own fighters in various proxy wars and funding Wahabbist mosques and schools that teach hatred for Jews, Christians, and the West. If the Saudis aren't the very definition of fair weather friends, then I don't know what the term is. I understand why the Saudis are considered allies, simply in terms of political realism, but I can't stand to see people like Tony Blair and John Kerry praise the virtues of King Abdullah when he presided over a state that bans women from the public square and flogs dissenters. :wtf:

[Alexa]

Short answer. Nobody is going to do a damn thing.

People can sign all the petitions they want, as long as Saudi Arabia has oil no one is going to do anything.

[Vivi_music]

One of the problems with the West's relationship with the House of Saud is that the Saudis claim to be a moderating force against jihadists while simultaneously arming their own fighters in various proxy wars and funding Wahabbist mosques and schools that teach hatred for Jews, Christians, and the West. If the Saudis aren't the very definition of fair weather friends, then I don't know what the term is. I understand why the Saudis are considered allies, simply in terms of political realism, but I can't stand to see people like Tony Blair and John Kerry praise the virtues of King Abdullah when he presided over a state that bans women from the public square and flogs dissenters. :wtf:

I don't consider myself an idealist, so I am aware that unless something terrible happens in that country, or the oil reserve goes short all of a sudden, our relationship with Saudi Arabia won't change. I know that historically, ties between the West and the Saudi regime are too strong. I know that me, as a mere individual, can't really change that. But just like the bolded, it sickens me to hear such praise for a person like King Abdallah. It just makes me blood boil.

I'm tired of feeling powerless in front on those international issues, so yes for me talking about it, raising awareness about the freedom of speech, supporting Amnesty international and talking to my MPs is my way of at least, feel like I'm helping a tiny little bit.

As for an update on Raif Badawi's case, we know that he wasn't flogged this Friday, officially because of medical reasons (again). However, according to the RFI (radio france international), it might be possible that international diplomacy is behind this. It was not confirmed by any officials, but the RFI journalist in Riyadh said that a lot of talks had been going on during the last week. I'm hoping the rumors are true. *crosses fingers*

[Mama Mia]

Jon Stewart had a good bit about this on the Daily Show

http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/gj46q ... saudi-duty