Raif
Badawi, a blogger in Saudi Arabia who has been imprisoned for violating
the nation's anti-cybercrime law, was given the death penalty for
apostasy by a higher court Wednesday, his wife told CNN.
According to Wikipedia, Apostasy
(/əˈpɒstəsi/; Greek: ἀποστασία (apostasia), 'a defection or revolt') is
the formal disaffiliation from or abandonment or renunciation of a
religion by a person. One who commits apostasy (or who apostatises) is
known as an apostate. The term apostasy is used by sociologists to mean
renunciation and criticism of, or opposition to, a person's former
religion, in a technical sense and without pejorative connotation.
Badawi
founded the Free Saudi Liberals website and was originally given a
seven-year sentence in July. A Jeddah criminal court found Badawi, who
has been in prison since June 2012, guilty of insulting Islam through
his website and in television comments. His lawyer appealed the
sentence, which also included 600 lashes.
"It
is an emotion I cannot describe. I never imagined this would happen,"
His wife said. "I thought maybe they would reduce the sentence but this
is unimaginable. The whole thing is about a website."
Badawi's
legal troubles started shortly after he started the Free Saudi Liberals
website in 2008. He was detained for one day and questioned about the
site. Some clerics even branded him an unbeliever and apostate.
Human
rights groups accuse Saudi authorities of targeting activists through
the courts and travel bans. Amnesty International has said Badawi's is
clear case of intimidation against him and others who seek to engage in
open debates about the issues that Saudi Arabians face in their daily
lives."
CNN could not reach the Saudi Arabian government officials for comment.
Badawi's wife, Ensaf Haidar, and the couple's three children now live in Lebanon.
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