Raif Badawi, the blogger who was sentenced to 1,000 lashes as well as 10 years in prison for insulting Islam has been awarded the European Parliament’s Sakharov human rights prize. Raif Badawi is the creator of the website “Free Saudi Liberals”.
In the same breath, the President of the European Parliament called on the Saudi Arabian government to release Badawi. Badawi, who was sentenced to 1,000 lashes, has received only 50 of the lashes as Saudi Arabian officials are worried about his deteriorating health.
Martin Schulz, president of the European Parliament, described Badawi as “courageous and exemplary” and many hope that the award will pressure the Saudi Arabian government into releasing Badawi.