![Members of Human rights NGO Amnesty International hold up portraits of jailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi as they demonstrate in front of the embassy of Saudi Arabia in Berlin, on 8 January 2016 to ask for his release. [TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/GettyImages-503973884.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1)
A Saudi Criminal Court in Jeddah sentenced human rights activist Raef Badawi, who is the cofounder of the Free Saudis Liberals website, to ten years in prison and a thousand lashes, as well as a fine of one million Saudi riyals ($270,000) on charges of insulting Islam, according to his family and human rights activists.
Al-Quds news website reported the sources saying that the ruling is subject to appeal within 30 days, noting the public prosecutor is calling for a more stringent punishment.
The Saudi Court of Appeal had overturned a previous sentence against Badawi, which punished him with seven years in prison and 600 lashes. The court decided at the time to refer the case to another judge for reconsideration, who issued his own ruling on the case on Wednesday. In between Badawi’s case has passed through various stages of litigation.
The activist was arrested in June 2012 and sentenced by the Criminal Court in July 2013 to seven years in prison for insulting Islam after he criticised members of the government’s Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice and demanded more religious freedom. The Court also decided to shut down Badawi’s website.
The head of the Free Saudi Liberals network, Suad Al-Shammari, told AFP news agency that the verdict was “unfair and unjust “, adding that: “There is no criminal charge against Badawi. He is a prisoner of conscience.”
Al-Shammari explained that the website had merely criticised members of the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice and some religious opinions we considered offensive to the essence of religion.
The activist pointed out that a group of clerics filed the lawsuit against Badawi, saying: “The government tries to appease them, at our expense sometimes.” She added that she is confident in the integrity of the Saudi justice system but stressed that her group’s activities are only online: “Our activities remain virtual.”
The ruling against Badawi follows a series of similar rulings against human rights activists in the Kingdom, which adheres to a conservative political, social and religious lifestyle.