Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Curtis said he will make extra efforts to support blogger Raif Badawi who has been sentenced to ten years imprisonment and 1,000 lashes in Saudi Arabia, the Anadolu Agency reported.
Austrian TV channel ORF reported Curtis as saying during a telephone conversation with Raif’s wife, Ensaf Haider, that he will work through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to provide more support to Badawi.
Badawi, 30, founded the Liberal Free Saudi in 2006 and was arrested in June 2012 on charges of disturbing public order and mocking religious symbols.
ORF said that Curtis plans to bring Badawi’s case before the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.
In January, Curtis urged his Saudi counterpart to grant amnesty to Badawi. Austrian Press Agency (APA) reported Curtis as saying that President Heinz Fischer asked him to continue his efforts to secure Badawi’s release.
Austrian Chancellor, Werner Faymann sent a letter to King Abdulaziz Al-Saud when he was crown prince expressing his concern over Badawi’s sentencing and demanding his release.
Badawi’s case sparked controversy among political circles in Austria which hosts the headquarters of the King Abdullah International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue in Vienna.
Several lawmakers led by the prime minister demanded the centre be closed while others including deputy chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner asked that Badawi’s case not be associated with the centre.
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