Urgent action network blog

In the year since Raif Badawi was flogged, Saudi Arabian authorities have continued their intense crackdown on free speech. Raif is one of many people behind bars simply for exercising their human rights in the Kingdom. We continue to campaign for…

The Saudi Arabian authorities are trying to silence Waleed for his human rights work. Defy them by spreading his message.

"He has always been my rock whenever I felt weak, he was my strength and my source of motivation and inspiration..." Samar Badawi's husband is serving a 15-year prison sentence simply for standing up for human rights in Saudi Arabia. Samar continues to…

The UK is the first foreign country to host one of Saudi Arabia's biggest football tournaments. It seems like our cosy business relationship with Saudi Arabian once again comes before human rights concerns... Has the UK forgotten about Raif Badawi and…

Raif Badawi has been imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for more than 3 years now. The end of the holy month of Ramadan and the Eid al-Fitr festival is traditionally a time when some prisoners are released. Ask the King of Saudi Arabia to free Raif and all…

It's been three years since Raif Badawi's children last saw their dad - and if the Saudi Arabian authorities have their way, it will be 19 years before they are reunited.

We are concerned that Raif Badawi, the imprisoned Saudi Arabian blogger, will be flogged tomorrow morning. Raif's sentence was upheld and confirmed by courts earlier this week, and we fear authorities will immediately resume punishing him with 50 lashes…

What has become of the Saudi Arabian blogger? 50 days after his public flogging, we look at how Raif's case has become known around the world - and yet Saudi Arabia still refuses to release him. Meanwhile, our own government shames itself by not publicly…

Saudi Arabia just flogged Raif Badawi in public - the first 50 lashes of his sentence of 1,000 lashes. All because he advocated free speech on a blog.