The injustices of the Saudi justice system came to the forefront twice in one week. Lashing liberal blogger Raif Badawi and publicly beheading a woman convicted of murdering her stepdaughter were carried out in the name of Islam by a regime that is so desperate to flaunt its Islamic credentials now that there are other emerging so-called Islamic states around the region. The regime has cooperated with the international alliance against the Islamic State (IS), but while adopting IS' mode of punishment.
This is the irony of having Saudi Arabia on board as an important partner in international efforts to destroy IS and combat terrorism. It is rather puzzling to say the least for the alliance to cooperate with a regime against the other when the two have so much in common. Both Saudi Arabia and IS seem to cherish public display of executions and other forms of torture. There may be a twisted logic behind the international alliance with Saudi Arabia against IS. The alliance may eventually ensure that there is only one legitimate, sovereign and internationally recognized country in the Arab region where public beheadings and other forms of physical punishment are normal practices that are beyond criticism.
On Jan. 9, Badawi, the liberal Saudi blogger convicted of insulting religion and criticizing religious scholars, received 50 lashes in public as part of a total of 1,000 lashes, 10 years in jail and a fixed fine. His second session of lashing was due the following Friday but it was canceled at the last minute. He was deemed medically unfit to receive the weekly 50 lashes, which were to last for 20 weeks. It was not clear whether his case would be reconsidered by the courts. However, reviews of court cases are not always good news: On Jan. 12, human rights lawyer Walid Abu al-Khayr had his sentence increased from 10 years to 15 years after the review process.
Since Badawi’s first lashing session, a truly global solidarity campaign in support of freeing him was begun by activists in Washington, London, Paris, Berlin, Tunisia and other countries coordinating their protest. The most spectacular protest took place in Washington, where Saudi activists carrying canes and inflicting pain on others simulated the public lashing drama. The protesters identified the key personality behind such severe sentences as Minister of Interior Prince Mohammed bin Nayef and denounced the Saudi court that sentenced Badawi.
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