Saudi blogger Raif Badawi free with 10-year travel ban

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Raif Badawi, 38, a Saudi blogger that was jailed and sentenced to 1,000 lashes for charges of "insulting Islam" has been freed, according to his wife, Ensaf Haidar. 

"Raif called me. He is free," Ensaf Haidar told AFP from Canada, where she left to with their three children. 

Saudi authorities did not comment on Badawi's release, whose sentence ended March 1. Although he is released, the blogger still cannot travel for 10 years. It is not clear whether he will be facing other restrictions.

An interior ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP on Saturday, "The sentence handed down to Raif was 10 years in prison followed by a travel ban for the same length of time. The court ruling holds up and is final."

Badawi has been arrested since 2012, charged with "going beyond the realm of obedience."

Reporters Without Borders, an NGO that advocates for freedom of speech, said it will work to make sure Badawi can join his wife and children in Canada. 

After the first round of the 1,000 lashes, outcries against the Saudi regime stopped the sentence but the blogger remained jailed.

His first flogging in the kingdom's Jeddah square shocked the world and was described by the United Nations as "cruel and inhuman". After the outcry, he was not lashed again.

His wife, Ensaf Haidar, was at the forefront of the global campaign for Badawi's release.

International non-governmental groups and the UN continue to denounce the repression of dissenting voices and the imprisonment of activists in Saudi Arabia, despite the Kingdom's efforts to whitewash its image.

Sheikh Nimr Baqir Al-Nimr

Badawi is not the only Saudi citizen to upset the Kingdom with his opinions, which led to his prosecution and sentence of torture; however, it seems as though the West has an affinity to anti-Muslim critics to fit the criteria for a media outcry. 

A Saudi critic, Sheikh Nimr Baqir Al-Nimr, along with 46 other people, was executed for his criticism of the Saudi regime.

Al-Nimr was repeatedly suppressed by Saudi authorities until he was convicted following an unfair political trial at the Saudi Specialized Criminal Court (SCC).

Sheikh Al-Nimr was a vocal critic of the Saudi government and spoke loudly against political injustice and marginalization of minorities in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi authorities arrested him in 2011 for participating in protests in the Eastern Province calling for political reform.

He was then re-arrested in July 2012, after he was chased and shot in the leg. After his arrest, demonstrations took place in Al-Qatif region to demand his immediate release.

According to Amnesty International, "Saudi Arabia has long been one of the most prolific executioners in the world."

"In many death penalty cases defendants are denied access to a lawyer and in some cases, they are convicted on the basis of 'confessions' obtained under torture or other ill-treatment," Amnesty added.