Princeton prof offers to take 100 lashes in place of Raif Badawi

A group of prominent religious freedom advocates in the U.S. have asked Saudi Arabia to either pardon jailed blogger Raif Badawi, or punish them instead.

"It's inhumane, it's unspeakably cruel and it's also contrary to international legal norms enshrined in covenants and agreements that the Saudis themselves have signed on to," Princeton professor Robert P. George tells As It Happens host Carol Off.

Badawi was arrested in 2012 for running a website called Free Saudi Liberals, which he used to advocate for human rights and social change in the region. He was charged with "insulting Islam through electronic channels" and sentenced last year to 10 years in prison, a fine of one million Saudi Arabian riyals (about $315,000 Cdn) and 1,000 lashes.

As It Happens has already spoken with his wife, Ensaf Haidar, who lives in Sherbrooke, Quebec. We also heard from Amnesty International regarding his case.

Now, George, along with six others, have written a letter to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia asking to end its "unspeakably cruel punishment" against Badawi or to each receive 100 lashes and "share in his victimization."

"If it's going to go forward, we'd rather take a portion of it for ourselves than see a man brutalized in this way," says George. "You don't make a statement like that it you're not prepared in your heart to accept it. I certainly hope it doesn't come to that."

Badawi has already received the first 50 lashes earlier this month.

"It's just appalling what they're doing to this man for doing nothing more than speaking his mind in matters of religion and politics," says George. "We know that he was beaten very badly. He was due to receive the second 50 lashes a week ago Friday, but he didn't receive the second set because he had not yet recovered from the first set of 50 lashes."

U.S. President Obama travelled to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, meeting the kingdom's new ruler. However, he said in advance that he probably won't raise Badawi's issues.

"I'm sure it will be interpreted as a message that the United States doesn't like what it's doing to Badawi and to others... but that Saudi Arabia is too important, it's oil is too important to the world economy, and it's too important as a geo-strategic and military counterweight to Iran," says George of President Obama's stance. "That's not the message we should be sending."

"In all the great faiths, we find something like compassion is a virtue. Islam refers to God, to Allah, as the all merciful. Mercy is also a value in the Islamic faith as well as the Christian and Jewish faiths. This is a time for mercy."

Here's the full text from the letter George and others sent to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia: