Aller au contenu principal

Activist Samar Badawi arrested by Saudi authorities

Human rights activist Samar Badawi joins her husband and brother in prison after getting arrested for managing her husband's Twitter account
Samar Badawi and her daughter wear T-shirts calling for the release of her husband Waleed Abu al-Khair (ClarionProject)
Par MEE staff

Samar Badawi, a Saudi human rights activist, was arrested by Saudi police on Tuesday.

Badawi manages her husband Waleed Abulkheir's Twitter account and was reportedly arrested for tweeting a picture of him inside prison.

The picture was taken two years ago when Abulkheir, a prominent lawyer and activist, was first imprisoned. In 2014, he was sentenced to 15 years prison time and became the first Saudi to be prosecuted under the country's Terrorism Act.

Abulkheir was also fined 200,000 riyals ($31,000) and banned from travelling for an additional 15 years upon completion of his sentence.

The Specialised Criminal Court in Jeddah charged him with "undermining the regime and officials, inciting public opinion and insulting the judiciary".

The couple has a young daughter together named Jood who was born during her father's incarceration.

Badawi is also the sister of Raif Badawi, the Saudi blogger whose case gained international attention after he was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes. He was sentenced on charges of apostasy and insulting Islam through electronic channels. 

Raif Badawi is the founder of the Free Saudi Liberals website.

His wife Ensaf, who sought political asylum in Canada with their three children in 2013, was one of the first to break the news of Samar Badawi's arrest on Twitter.

According to Ensaf, Samar is being held at the Dhahran central prison, where both her husband and brother are imprisoned.

Badawi was awarded the International Women of Courage Award in 2012, which was presented to her by Michelle Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton at the US State Department.

Middle East Eye propose une couverture et une analyse indépendantes et incomparables du Moyen-Orient, de l’Afrique du Nord et d’autres régions du monde. Pour en savoir plus sur la reprise de ce contenu et les frais qui s’appliquent, veuillez remplir ce formulaire [en anglais]. Pour en savoir plus sur MEE, cliquez ici [en anglais].